Effective Project Management in the Water Sector i | SlovakAid project Georgia 2015

Project: Effective Project Management in the Water Sector in Georgia: Implementation of the EU and EBRD Methodologies

Supported by: SlovakAid, www.slovakaid.sk

Project period: October 2015 - January 2017

Project background:

Improving water protection and water and waste management is one of the main priorities of the country due to the current critical situation in this sector. In addition, an Association Agreement has been signed with the EU. The critical situation has been confirmed via information from the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, the Ministry of Environment and the Georgian project partner NALAG. They confirmed the urgent need to address the cleanliness of waste water and the building of waste water treatment plants. The country is in a crucial state in this domain, with a poor infrastructure and very low level of management. It is vital that the water sector increases its utilisation of foreign investments, EU and EBRD funds and the application of their methodologies in the planning and management of projects. This is critical for the improvement of the current situation and the implementation of EU directives and requirements to improve the living conditions of the population. The effective management of the water sector in Georgia is therefore the mainobjective of the project.

In order to achieve this, it is necessary to build up adequate capacities in Georgia. Effective management of projects in the water sector at the municipal level, under the terms of the EU and EBRD, is therefore the specific objective of the project, under the expected upcoming reform of water management and the expected transfer of competencies from the central to the municipal level.

Project results:

The results of the project are divided into two parts:

1. Development of detailed methodology under the terms of the EU andEBRD:
1.1 - Manual Part A - Methodology of projects under the terms of the EBRD, in English.
1.2 - Manual Part B - Methodology of projects under the terms of the EU, in English.
1.3 - Manual Part C - Methodology of water projects for EIA assessment (Environmental Impact Assessment), in English.
1.4 - Manual Part D - Methodology for audit trail and comments on existing public procurement law, in English.

2. Developed professional capacities inGE for management of water sector projects under the terms of the EU aEBOR – Twenty trained representatives in municipal government, NALAG and the relevant ministries,7 representatives of study stay to Slovakia, 72 informed municipal units, two ministries and the broad professional and general public, summary based on manuals translated to the Georgian language.

The project’s results will be used for direct utilisation by the relevant institutions in practice, but they will also provide an expert basis for leading a constructive dialogue between central government and municipal government representatives during the upcoming processes of the reform of the water management system in Georgia.

Project activities:

The Activities necessary for accomplishing the planned results include project meetings of SK and GE experts and project teams, data collection and an analysis of the present situation in Georgia, and four missions of SK experts to Georgia, during which they will meet with local experts, officials, design engineers and operators of waste water treatment plants. They will visit existing waste water treatment plants or buildings under construction and during the fourth trip they will lead the planned training and media conference. In addition, a study tour will be organised for 7 Georgian experts in Slovakia, focused on learning from the Slovak experience regarding the construction and management of waste water treatment plants, financing of investments and project management, based on EU and EBOR methodologies, and the implementation of EU regulations and directives. Slovak experts will develop the planned 4 manuals and comment on the existing public procurement law. They will continuously consult these documents with the Georgian project partners in order to adapt the developed methodologies as much as possible to Georgian conditions. In conclusion, there will be 1.5 days’ training for 20 officials and a media conference for 40 people - representatives of local governments, ministries, the media and NGOs. The project results will be distributed electronically to 72 municipalities and two ministries and through communication and the distribution tools of the applicant and Georgian partner to the general public. After the project ends, the officials trained during the project will be available to other relevant officials and institutions for consultations, facilitated by NALAG.