The government of Albania has recently taken significant steps referring to the agglomeration of the existing 58 water utilities. The Decision of Council of Ministers no. 352 date 11.05.2022 implies an extensive restructuring of the utilities at the national level. This will raise a number of new challenges for various aspects regarding planning, investment and operation.
Under this major theme, the key stakeholders of the water sector in Albania gathered at the 3rd meeting of the working group for result 3 – National Sludge Management Strategy on 14 July in Tirana International Hotel.
The central government participants underlined that the process that is expected to happen will resolve who will take over the operations for any regional new water utility. Such development will require further updates of the legal framework for the entities with common competencies (ECCs) as in Law No 139/2015 Local Self-Government.
NIPS experts shared for the working group the business models and options analysis that might be considered in the light of this new standpoint. Costs, transportation, sludge management, and treatment options will be some of the key issues that the management of the new regional companies will have to cope with.
The 16 working group participants represented the National Agency of Water Supply, Sewerage and Waste Infrastructure (AKUM), Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy (MoIE), Ministry of Tourism and Environment (MoTE), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD), National Environment Agency (NEA), Water Supply Sector Regulatory Authority (ERRU), Agency for the Management of Water Resources (AMBU) and NIPS Project.
