Chinese to finance waste water treatment in Belgrade – Value of central collector construction EUR 269 million

One of the big ecological problems faced by the capital of Serbia – disposal of waste waters directly into the Sava and the Danube – might have a solution in sight. As Mayor Sinisa Mali has announced, the talks with Chinese partners regarding the completion of the central collector, the Interceptor, should be completed in the next month and a half. The collector should link the pumping stations Usce and Mostar, from New Belgrade to Veliko Selo. The facility for the treatment of waste waters from the city would be located there. The treated water would then be poured into the Danube.

The city administration expect to end the negotiations with the Asian partners about financing the construction of the EUR 269 million collector in the next month and a half.

– Belgrade is the only city in Europe not to have a waste water treatment factory, instead pouring the waste waters directly into the rivers. We have started detailed negotiations with our Chinese partners about financing the project and we could start finishing it by spring. It is, so to say, semi-finished, but the constructed sections are not connected – Sinisa Mali says.

The construction of the interceptor will lead to the closing down of the outfalls to the Sava at the Belgrade Fair and the Port of Belgrade's passenger terminal, as well as to the Danube bay in Zemun, New Belgrade, at the Pancevo Bridge and Ada Huja. The project includes the first stage of treating all waste waters.

– This entails the reconstruction and construction of hydro tunnels (collectors) and pumping stations. The tunnel from Karaburma to Veliko Selo has been built, but it needs to be extended to the Visnjicka Street and the corner of the Despota Stefana Blvd and the Venizelosova Street. The Interceptor will be divided into two branches at the corner. One branch will lead to Kalemegdan, along the Vojvode Bojovica Street and all the way to the Sava confluence. It will collect all the waste waters from Zemun and New Belgrade there. The second branch will lead to the highway and the Emergency Service. The water from Cukarica, Mokri Lug and Topcider will be collected at the Emergency Service point. All this water will then be redirected to Veliko Selo and the waste water treatment factory – Zoran Matic, executive director for the sewerage at JP Vodovod i Kanalizacija, says for Politika.

The total length of the collectors will amount to around 16 km, and around a half have been built so far. The Belgrade Land Development Public Agency signed an agreement this month on the preparation of the project and the technical documentation for the sewerage pumping stations, which will be a part of the future waste water treatment facility in Veliko Selo.

As Matic explains, the final tunnel Visnjica, the length of which is 6,700 m, has the biggest diameter.

– We will have to build the pumping station Usce and reconstruct the pumping station at Mostarska Petlja. The construction of the two branches and the collector from the Venizelosova Street will solve the problem of the disposal of the waste waters produced by over a million residents of the capital of Serbia – Matic says.

The problem for the remaining populace of Belgrade will be solved by the construction of another four waste water treatment factories. One facility should be located on the left bank of the Danube, in Krnjaca. It would collect waste waters from Borca, Ovca and Kotez. The second facility should be built in Batajnica. Waste waters from the surrounding settlements, parts of Altina, Zemun and Surcin, should be treated there, and the project documentation is currently being prepared. The third one should be located in Vinca and serve the Bolecica area, as well as the part around the Bolecica river basin, whereas the fourth one will serve Ostruznica and Sremcica.

Grad Beograd

JKP Beogradski vodovod i kanalizacija Beograd

JP Direkcija za građevinsko zemljište i izgradnju Beograda

City of Belgrade

JP Vodovod i kanalizacija Beograd

Belgrade Land Development Public Agency

waste water treatment Belgrade

Belgrade collector

construction of Belgrade collector

Interceptor

Interceptor project

Belgrade central collector

Usce pumping station

Mostar pumping station

Sava

Danube

waste water treatment facility Veliko Selo

Veliko Selo

waste water treatment facility Krnjaca

waste water treatment facility Batajnica

waste water treatment facility Vinca

Bolecica

waste water treatment facility Ostrucnica

Sinisa Mali

Zoran Matic