As a result of damage to the energy infrastructure, there are water supply interruptions in the capital, Kiev mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said.
“There are water supply interruptions in all parts of the capital due to damage to the energy infrastructure. Specialists are working to stabilize the system. Just in case, prepare a supply of drinking and technical water,” Klitschko wrote in his Telegram channel on Friday.
The Danish company Aarsleff Pipe Technologies, engaged in trenchless rehabilitation and repair of pipelines, has handed over equipment to Ukraine for the repair of water supply and drainage systems in war-affected areas, the press service of the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine has reported.
According to the report, equipment worth UAH 1.2 million was delivered to Zhytomyr, Malyn, Berdychiv, Korosten (all in Zhytomyr region), Kramatorsk (Donetsk region), Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Sumy.
Earlier, Aarsleff and the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development agreed to supply equipment valued at EUR 400,000.
Aarsleff Pipe Technologies is engaged in trenchless pipeline renewal. The company is listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen A/S and the group has annual revenue of EUR 1.6 billion.
The Verkhovna Rada plans to launch a nationwide targeted social program to provide Ukrainians with water through the development and reconstruction in 2022-2026 of centralized water supply and drainage systems in settlements throughout Ukraine, its total cost is estimated at UAH 57 billion. Corresponding bill No. 5723 on the nationwide target social program “Drinking Water of Ukraine” for 2022-2026 at first reading at a parliamentary meeting on Thursday was supported by 328 MPs with the required 226 votes.The existing issue of providing the inhabitants of Ukraine with high-quality drinking water is planned to be resolved through the construction, reconstruction or overhaul of water intake, water supply and treatment facilities, water supply networks and drainage systems, the construction and installation of post-treatment stations for drinking water, the creation of laboratories for monitoring the quality of drinking water and waste water.According to the annex to the document, in the territory of the country in 2022-2026 it is planned to build or reconstruct 290 water intake buildings, 280 water supply and treatment facilities, 79 post-treatment plants for drinking water, 1,100 water supply and drainage networks, as well as launch five water quality control laboratories.Financing of the program is planned from the state budget of Ukraine, including the state fund for regional development, the state fund for the development of water management and subventions for the implementation of investment projects, local budget funds, the funds of water supply and drainage enterprises, external and internal borrowings, grants from international organizations, funds from international programs, charitable contributions.”The approximate amount of funding for the program is UAH 28.59 billion, of which from the state budget – UAH 16.95 billion, from the local budget and other sources – UAH 11.64 billion. The volume of expenses required for the implementation of the program is determined annually, taking into account the possibilities of the state and local budgets in the formation of their indicators,” the appendix to the draft law reads.According to an explanatory note to the document, the implementation of the water supply program will allow consumers to receive high-quality services of centralized drainage and wastewater treatment, and industry enterprises providing services for centralized water supply and centralized drainage will receive an increase in profits from their activities.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has signed a framework agreement with the French government on loan financing of projects to modernize water supply systems in Kyiv and Luhansk region in the amount of EUR 70 million each.
According to the draft decree of the Cabinet of Ministers on the signing of a framework agreement, a concessional treasury loan in the amount of EUR 70 million will be directed to the reconstruction of water supply facilities of the Dnipro and Desnianska waterworks. The project will improve the quality of water for a quarter of the capital’s population, says the government’s press service.
The second loan in the amount of EUR 70 million will finance a project to reconstruct the infrastructure for the production and distribution of drinking water at Popasna District Vodokanal utility company. As a result of modernization, it is planned to achieve a volume of water flow of 135,000 cubic meters per day, which will provide drinking water for more than 20 settlements.
Under the terms of the agreement, the loan is provided for 40 years, including a 15-year grace period. The loan rate is 0.0092% per annum. The condition for the provision of funds is the purchase of goods and services from France in the amount of at least 70% of the loan amount for the implementation of the project.
In addition, in order to obtain a loan, contracts between French suppliers and the project implementer must be accepted for execution by the end of 2022, and the loan must be selected by the end of 2026.
The National Commission for Energy, Housing and Utilities Services Regulation (NCER) at a meeting on February 4 approved an increase in tariffs for centralized water supply and sewerage services for 43 enterprises by an average of 20%. According to information on the regulator’s website, in accordance with the applications of enterprises, a decision was made to increase tariffs for centralized water supply by an average of 21%, tariffs for centralized sewerage by 23%.
Thus, the water supply tariff of Kyivvodokanal will rise by 13.59%, from UAH 9.86 per cubic meter to UAH 11.2. The tariff for sewerage will increase by 6.28%, from UAH 7.49 per cubic meter to UAH 7.96.
According to the materials on the NCER’s website, enterprises argued the need to increase the tariffs by raising employees’ wages, higher prices for fuels and lubricants, reagents and electricity.
The Parliamentary Budget Committee recommended that the Verkhovna Rada consider the redistribution of gambling proceeds for the construction and reconstruction of swimming pools, the development of sports and water supply in the villages when considering the state budget for 2020, according to the committee’s conclusions to draft state budget No.2000.
According to the conclusions, members of the parliamentary committee recommend to increase financing of the program “Development of physical culture, sports of the highest achievements and reserve sports” by UAH 431.3 million, including UAH 411.3 million meant for a special fund at the expense of payments for gambling licenses.
Besides, the committee members also proposed to establish a budget subsidy program for the construction of new and reconstruction of existing 50-meter and 20-meter swimming pools in the amount of UAH 200 million for the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports with financing provided with the proceeds from these licenses.
Another UAH 150 million from these funds proposed to allocate for the budget program “Priority provision of rural settlements with centralized water supply”.
In addition, the document envisages reduction of expenses for the support of the National Public Television and Radio Company of Ukraine by UAH 300 million, while increasing the costs of supporting the newspaper “Holos Ukrainy” (Voice by Ukraine) by UAH 300 million, reads the document.
At the same time, the committee proposed to cut by UAH 130 million development expenditures under the budget program “Utilization of solid rocket fuel” and to increase the expenses for the program for scientific and technical activities in the agro-industrial complex by UAH 200 million.
