Water supply and sewerage systems to be managed by certified operators

The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and the Water Supply and Sewerage Association of Albania signed a Memorandum of Understanding with USAID in Albania for the creation of a joint program of certification based in testing which will requires the employment of certified operational managers for water supply and sewerage sector. The Memorandum signed on Wednesday by the heads of the three institutions.

Based on this Memorandum, all the private associations of water supply and sewerage in the country will have to employee certified managerial operators which will be first tested by the Water Supply and Sewerage Association of Albania with the support of USAID. The program comes as an incentive on behalf of the “Sustainable development of water supply capacities in Albania” project, financed by USAID.

During the signing ceremony, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure declared that this Memorandum is of importance and a step forward on behalf of the water supply-sewerage reform which has begun in Albania.

“Our intention is to achieve a better performance in this sector, aiming to improve the service for all citizens and to expand throughout the country for the water supply and the treatment of waste waters,” declared Minister Panariti.

In turn, the representative of USAID in Albania underlined the importance of the certification of managerial operators based on testing as an important tool for a stable and professional management of the water supply systems.

The director of the Water Supply and Sewerage Association of Albania stated that “the establishment of such capacities is one of our main missions. We can surely say that by the end of this project’s implementation, Albania will have a documented training program in this regard, which will be unique in the Balkan region.”

News source/photo credits: ATA