Construction under Environment Operational Program (OP Environment) is starting, the Environment and Water Ministry said on Sunday.

The first project involves the reconstruction of the waste water treatment plant of Hissarya (Southern Bulgaria).

The infrastructure project is worth 22,200,038 Bulgarian leva and will be launched by Environment and Water Minister Djevdet Chakurov at a ceremony on January 7. This project's implementation is part of Bulgaria's commitment to set up treatment plants in centres of population of over 10,000 inhabitants by 2010.

Hissarya is to implement another project approved under OP Environment for improvement of the municipality's water supply infrastructure.

The projects of a total of 154 municipalities, or 52 per cent of all municipalities in the country, have been approved under OP Environment.

By last year's end, the Ministry has signed contracts for financing of approved projects of municipalities of a total worth of 567 million leva, of which the contracts for waste water treatment plants and water supply and sewerage infrastructure are worth 494 million leva.

Contracts for all projects approved so far will be signed in the first half of January. Their total worth is 1,050 million leva, which is 30 per cent of the 1,800 million euro to be absorbed under OP Environment by 2013.

Projects regarding water supply infrastructure in centres of population of over 10,000 inhabitants are still accepted under a procedure, which will end on January 19. Projects under a procedure regarding protection of biological diversity are also collected, the ministry added.

Source: BTA