Kavaja and Golemi Wastewater Treatment Plant and Sewerage System

The sewerage system of Kavaja is inadequate for the demand made by the population of the area serviced. The wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) has the capacity to meet the needs of 25,000, whereas it should serve 100,000 people.

The EU has provided grant support in excess of €7 million in order to cover design and procurement assistance as well investment costs (the latter only for the WWTP; the works for Golemi sewerage network are financed by the Albanian Government), through WBIF and IPA National. 

Based on the detail design prepared by the Infrastructure Project Facility 2, the following investments have been defined and are now being implemented:

• extension of the 25,000 people equivalent biological wastewater treatment plant to 100,000 population equivalent, including a pre-treatment station, two anaerobic ponds, two trickling filters, and two sedimentation tanks;
• construction of sludge management units including one sludge storage tank and four roof covered sludge drying beds;
• construction of one disinfection building and storage facility for treated water;
• construction of a secondary network in Golemi's trunk sewer section (1,351 m), secondary and tertiary sewers (29,495 m) with diameters ranging from 200 to 500 mm; installation of 494 HDPE manholes for sound operation and maintenance and construction of three wastewater pumping stations.

Upon successful implementation of the project, Kavaja and Golemi's residents and visitors will have beaches with clean bathing water and alleviated environmental hazards. This will help promote economic growth and tourism development. Other benefits include:

• improved public health and decrease in waterborne diseases;
• protection of the marine environment and aquatic life;
• an increase in the service quality of the water company;
• reduction in land pollution by negated septic tank flooding;
• energy and water consumption reduction through the potential use of treated water for irrigation.

The project satisfies the requirements of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive and the EU's Bathing Water Directive and therefore is an important environmental milestone in supporting Albania's EU Accession process.

The study work was completed in May 2011. Works started in earnest in 2015 and are ongoing.