Zhytomyr – In any country the water and sewage network system is considered to be a strategic facility. Yet if in European cities and towns even a short-time water supply failure ranks as an emergency situation, in this country it is part and parcel of everyday life. In Zhytomyr talks about the urgency of large-scale upgrading of the entire water supply and sewage system and complete overhaul of the network (all of it public-owned) have lasted for years already, but the local authorities keep maintaining that they lack funds.
The newly-passed Law “On Peculiarities of Transfer to Rent or Concession of Objects of District Heating, Water Supply, and Sanitation that are under Communal Ownership” (in October last year) gave rise to hopes that modern technologies from developed countries might finally be implemented. The more so that in the West most similar problems have long been successfully dealt with, and companies need new markets.
Recently at a specially held conference, a Moscow-based joint stock company Research Institute for Public Water Supply and Water Purification presented preliminary estimates and plans concerning the concession of Zhytomyrvodokanal Public Utilities. Viktor Skoblikov, director of this company’s office in Ukraine, informed that the sum of necessary investments to upgrade the existing facilities and install new ones (the analysis was based on data provided by the Zhytomyr public utilities) was around 287 million hryvnias. According to Skoblikov, the desirable concession term should be not less than 25 years (the law limits the maximum term to 50 years), which would allow to cover essential costs first and then make profits.
However, certain basic indices used in his calculations are taken as stable. Besides, in dry years there will always be a problem with the lack of water in the reservoirs Vidsichne and Denyshivske on the Teteriv river, that are essential to the stable water supply in Zhytomyr. This once again raises the question of the draining of a part of the water flow from the River Sluch into the Teteriv.
Also, the city dwellers are using more and more bottled and artesian water, which means the reduction of the need in tap water.
Yet what is all the talk of economically grounded water supply and sewage rates worth, if the loss of water in the communal water networks in Zhytomyr reaches nearly 50 percent? The experts from Moscow promise to reduce this figure to 30-35 percent. No breakthrough technologies were mentioned, though.
When asked if it was reasonable to look for partners in EU countries, the director of Zhytomyrvodokanal Leonid Bashynsky told The Day that their designs were very expensive. He assured, however, that they would also install equipment made by renowned European companies. Skoblikov referred to his company’s experience in
Russia, in particular, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. At the same time, not a single successful EU project was mentioned. Still, they have large-scale plans for Ukraine: the Moscow company is already working in Kramatorsk and Artemivsk (Donetsk Oblast), and negotiating with a number of other cities besides Zhytomyr, in particular, Khmelnytsky. In total, they plan to cater for some three million Ukrainians.
Why are Russians so interested in Ukraine? Does it mean that at home they have restored their water supply and sewage networks to perfect order, and are using some state-of-the-art facilities? Russia also provides access to much larger funds. By the way, some of the journalists from Kramatorsk (where the local water supply and sewage system is virtually leased to that very same Russian company) like Alina Fadieieva, said that their city was losing control over the water supply networks and no one knew what this would eventually lead to, especially if the independence of Ukraine is concerned.
The behavior of Russians (and not only theirs) suggests that the case is already settled in their favor — and not just in Zhytomyr, but at the top administrative level, in the nation’s capital. Nevertheless, the law stipulates that the decision about the concession of Zhytomyrvodokanal (is a single-bidder tender admissible?!) should be taken by the members of the city council, where the Party of Regions, represented by mayor Volodymyr Deboi, does not have a stable majority.
When asked if it was worthwhile giving the “tap” to a Russian company, the head of Zhytomyr Oblast State Administration Serhii Ryzhuk answered that he didn’t believe it would make the city dependent in any way, and that the presentation was only “the first fitting of a jacket before it’s actually cut.”
Deboi held a similar opinion. At a recent press conference held to mark his first hundred days in office, he told The Day that it was just a presentation of the Russian company, but no decisions had been taken so far. He also promised that the best technologies would be sought for.
The “third sector” also has its own opinion concerning the problem. In particular, Vitalii Kichkiruk, deputy head of the Secretariat of Ukraine-wide youth NGO “The Foundation for Regional Initiatives,” said that the bid of 287 million hryvnias was not that “unmanageable” and the city had companies with considerable potential.
P.S. The Day requested the Mi-nistry for Regional Development, Construction, and Public Utilities Sector to comment on the lively interest in Ukrainian water supply systems, displayed by a Russian investor, and share other examples of dealing with international investors (from the EU in particular) in the sphere of concession of Ukrainian public utility networks, and expound the effort made by state in order to prevent the loss of state control over these strategic facilities. Unfortunately, at the moment of publishing, the newspaper had not received any reaction.
