LWG Lausitzer Wasser GmbH & Co. KG and the municipal water supply company Su Canal Comrat in the Republic of Moldova have entered into a partnership to strengthen the water infrastructure in Comrat and improve the management of drinking water and wastewater services. Comrat, the capital of the Gagauzia region with a population of 26,400, is located in the south of the Republic of Moldova. This inter-municipal project, supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and 100% funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, serves international cooperation to promote sustainable urban development.
LWG Lausitzer Wasser GmbH & Co. KG is a public private partnership between the City of Cottbus, the surrounding districts and REMONDIS Aqua. As one of the largest and most renowned water management companies in Brandenburg, LWG ensures high quality water supply and wastewater treatment and also offers a wide range of industrial, municipal and private services.
Exchange of experience among partners
“Our aim is to pass on our knowledge to our colleagues in Comrat in order to raise their work to a higher level of efficiency,” emphasises Jonas Krause from LWG. The first step will focus on reducing energy consumption, increasing the use of renewable energies and renovating the wastewater treatment plant and sewer network in Comrat. This collaboration offers the opportunity to exchange expertise and experience in order to find sustainable solutions to the challenges facing the water infrastructure. However, the challenge is not only the technical implementation, but also overcoming language barriers. “The biggest challenge could be communication, as the Moldovan colleagues primarily speak Russian and Romanian,” explains Jonas Krause.
The initiative for such a project also came from Martin Apelt, engineer and team leader of LWG’s technical office. He has already been involved in voluntary and humanitarian work in this region on several occasions. “It is a matter close to Mr Apelt’s heart to make a contribution to the people in this south-eastern European region and former CIS republic. His expertise and specialist knowledge can also be used and implemented in this project, which we are happy to support and thank GIZ for funding the project,” says Marten Eger, managing director of LWG. “An exchange of experience always helps both partners move forward, which is important to me,” emphasises the LWG’s technical director.
Meeting with the mayor of Comrat, Sergey Anastasov
Visit to the main pumping station in Comrat
The plan for the coming phases includes online introductions, face-to-face meetings, technical meetings and on-site visits in Moldova and Germany – an exchange of experts between the companies involved.
The partnership aims to create a future-oriented, efficient and sustainable local water infrastructure to improve the quality of life of citizens and make a small contribution as LWG to the global goal of worldwide sustainable development.
Strengthening partnerships between municipal companies
The operator platform for strengthening partnerships between municipal enterprises worldwide is a pilot project and has been implemented since July 2019 on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as a cooperation project between Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Engagement Global with its Service Agency Communities in One World (SKEW). The operator platform is being developed and implemented in cooperation with the Verband Kommunaler Unternehmen (VKU) [German Association of Local Public Utilities of municipally determined infrastructure undertakings and economic enterprises] and the German Water Partnership (GWP).
Image credits: image 1: U. Mertens, Atelier für Kunst und Fotografie; image 2-3: © LWG Lausitzer Wasser
