GTZ to help modernization of public utility services in 16 Serbian municipalities with 320,000 EUR - contracts signed

- The representatives of 16 municipalities in Serbia have signed contracts on April 1st with German Organization for Technical Assistance (GTZ) on joint project for modernization of public utility services in fields of water supply, waste management and energy efficiency in 2008 - Permanent Conference of Cities and Municipalities (SKGO) announced.

The contracts were signed in the premises of the Assembly of City of Belgrade with the representatives of Aleksandrovac, Raška, Topola, Ub, Arilje, Bačka Topola, Varvarin, Veliko Gradište, Vrnjačka Banja, Babušnica, Ćićevac, Majdanpek, Mali Zvornik, Svilajnac, Žitište and Golubac.

Municipalities with up to 40,000 citizens, which signed the contract, were selected on the basis of the open competition for submission of drafts projects, the deadline for which was February 28, 2007.

About 320,000 EUR is set aside this year for the project for modernization of public utility services in field of water supply, waste management and energy efficiency, which is being implemented within the scope of program "Modernization of Municipal Services", and municipalities will provide additional 380,000 EUR from their own sources.

According to the contract for year 2008, GTZ will help implementation of projects by donating up to 50% of the value of municipal investments, that is, up to 30,000 EUR, and donation also includes expert assistance in planning and technical realization of the projects.

Between 2004 and 2007, about 3m EUR worth of 73 projects were either realized or their implementation commenced. About 1m EUR was donated by Germans.