Construction of large irrigation system Macva begins – Investment worth EUR 4.1 million

The construction of a large regional irrigation and drainage system Macva began near Bogatic with the commencement of works on the first subsystem CS N6, which will feature a 62-km canal, and Minister of Agriculture Branislav Nedimovic said that the goal was to enable the usage of water on as many agricultural surfaces as possible.

– The dual-purpose system Macva is very important to us, because it is the first project we are realizing beneath the Sava and the Danube. It is one of the biggest projects by capacity – Nedimovic said while taking a tour of the works with the director of Srbijavode, Goran Puzovic.

Water is everything in agriculture, as it brings both quality and quantity, Nedimovic emphasized.

The Macva hydrosystem will secure irrigation on around 26,000 hectares of land, of which 10,900 ha will be covered by CS N6.

The preparatory works began on June 6 near Bogatic, and the completion deadline period is two years.

The CS N6 project is financed through the Abu Dhabi Development Fund in the amount of EUR 4.1 million. A total of 17 pumping stations and two dams will be built as part of the subsystem.

The works are being carried out by a consortium of local companies led by the Sabac-based company Masinkop.

The construction of 17 pumping stations with machinery, pumps and electric motor facilities with a safety system, as well as the reconstruction of the canal system for the intake of water from the Sava, are envisaged by the project.

After 30 years, the construction of 12 large irrigation systems began as part of the project “Development of Irrigation Systems Phase One”, which will secure the irrigation of 48,000 hectares of agricultural land, and the total value of the works on all 12 projects is EUR 15.1 million.

Last year, works on 11 projects started in Vojvodina: dual-purpose systems Recej, Medja, Itebej, Jankov Most 1 and 2, pumping stations Jegricka, Pesir and Kaloca and subsystems Nova Crnja-Zitiste, Tisa-Palic, Kikinda-CS Mokrinska 2 and Mali Idjos.

The works on all 11 projects in Vojvodina will be completed in 2018, whereas the works on the first part of the Macva system will be completed in June 2020.

The cooperation in the field of water management between Serbia and the United Arab Emirates is being realized through the loan agreement which came into effect on July 24, 2014, and the aim of the project is to secure the stability of yields, regardless of droughts and floods, and to secure a considerable increase in the volume of agricultural production and the competitiveness of Serbian products in the world market.

Around 2 to 3% of arable areas are currently being irrigated in Serbia, and the aim is for the percentage to reach 6 or 7% in the upcoming period.

Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srbije

Mašinokop d.o.o. Šabac

JVP Srbijavode Novi Beograd

Macva irrigation system

Abu Dhabi Development Fund

irrigation in Macva

Branislav Nedimovic

Goran Puzovic

Macva dual purpose system

Hydrosystem Macva