The Municipal Council of the City of Fier has recently decided to award the German Financial Cooperation the Order of Merit under the motivation ‘For the extraordinary contribution given in the sustainable development of the City of Fier’.
The Mayor of Fier, Mr. Armando Subashi presented the awarded order to the Member of the Management Committee of KfW, Mr. Stephan Opitz in a ceremony held in the premises of the Municipal Council of Fier in the presence of the Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy Mr. Iven Schad, Country Director of KfW Albania Ms. Brit Horschke and other high-ranking officials.
The investments in Fier are part of the ‘Municipal Infrastructure Program I & II’ and ‘Water Sector Performance-based Investment Program (WPIP)’ co-financed by the German Government, the EU and Swiss Government through KfW with an amount of over EUR 125.6 million. WPIP/MIP V is the largest program for the sector and foresees investments the 6 regional water companies of Shkodra, Lezhe, Elbasan, Fier, Berat and Vlora. It is expected that over 470.000 cistizens will benefit from these investments.
These investments have focused mainly in improving the water and sewerage infrastructure of Fier and over 40% of the population has directly benefited, enjoying uninterrupted water supply 24 h on 7 days of the week, while around 90% of the inhabitants have improved water supply service hours, and 32,000 inhabitants benefit from the construction of the main collectors in the city.
In Albania, KfW carries out the German Financial Cooperation through various projects and programmes. KfW provides grant aid and concessional loans for key investments and project-related consultancy services. German development cooperation with Albania started in 1988. Since then, the German Government has committed more than one billion EUR for development projects and programs. The energy sector is a priority area within the scope of German Financial Cooperation with Albania, with an active portfolio of over EUR 457 million.
/Argumentum.al
