Pašalić: Our goal is to protect the environment, especially the river Bosna, and to improve the living conditions of citizens
Yesterday (Monday) the first meeting of the project committee for the project “Collection and treatment of wastewater in Zenica” was held in the city administration of Zenica, which was attended by Fuad Kasumović, the mayor of Zenica, Stephan Raabe (via Zoom), the representative of the German development bank KfW, Siroco Messerli in on behalf of the Embassy of Switzerland in BiH, Emir Pašalić, director of the company “Vodovod i Kanalizacija”, Nermina Hodžić and Amila Ibrulj on behalf of the Agency for the Sava River Water Area, Amer Husremović on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry, Mirsad Ibrović on behalf of the Federal Environment Ministry and tourism, and Dario Tolić on behalf of the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On this occasion, realized project activities were presented. In his address to the audience, Mayor Kasumović pointed out that the waste water project is very important for Zenica and that the City Administration and JP ViK have done their part and that now they need to start implementing the project.
Siroco Messerli, on behalf of the Embassy of Switzerland in Bosnia and Herzegovina, said that the waste water project is an important project not only for Zenica, but for the Federation and the entire country.
“This is a project with large investments, and there were a lot of investments that were not successful like Mostar. This project is not similar to the project in Mostar, we have a dedicated City Administration and partners, so we are on the right track for it to be done properly. The specificity of this project is that everything is a grant and there are no loans. We are aware that, as far as the City of Zenica and JP “ViK” is concerned, a lot has been done, that you are working hard and that everything is going as it should. But there are still several open questions that I believe we will overcome,” said Masserli.
Emir Pašalić, director of JP “ViK”, presented the project, its content, current status, as well as the challenges they face, and the obligations from the Action Plan were discussed.
“Our goal is to protect the environment, especially the Bosna River, and to improve the living conditions of the citizens of Zenica and the citizens who live downstream. This is an environmental project that has received significant support, many participants and donors are involved, and the City of Zenica will participate with one million euros. We should not forget how the mayor, all with the aim of securing funds for the implementation of this project, made a politically risky decision and corrected the price of water, all so that the funds would be sufficient”, said Pašalić.
At the end, they discussed finding solutions to the issues of land acquisition, displacement of Roma, coastal fortifications…
