eko-kawela bay project -environmental project management ... · eko-kawela bay project...

EKO-KaWela Bay Project - Environmentalproject management and issues

V, Androtec 1,B, IvanW 2‘ Universip of Zagreb, Croatia2Executive Manager, EKO Project, Croatia

Abstract

Due to extensive industrialization and increase in population numbers during thelast fifty years, Ka3tela Bay has become one of the most polluted areas in theMediterranean.

Six years ago, the Croatian Government, in collaboration with the WorldBank and European Bank, decided to invest approximately 150 million Euros inwater supply and sewage systems that would address the sea quality issues in thewhole Bay, such being the largest undertaking in the Adriatic, and among thelargest ones in the Mediterranean.

The separate describes the initial stages of the project named EKO-KaNelaBay, its structure, technical approach in addressing various issues, in particularthose related to designing and environmental monitoring, as well as majorimplementation milestones with completion schedules.

Resistance of locals concerning certain undertakings, such as submarineoutfalls, which required special approach in engagement of professionals and abroader governmental management matrix, is also viewed in retrospect.

Finally, the project financial flow is presented, as well as problems inbalancing the tiding sources in view of surplus loan proceedings during certainimplementation periods.

In conclusion, it is quite possible to protect the sea and improve its quality byimplementation of grand-scale infrastructure projects in a country as developedas Croatia, but there exists a number of problems, from planning to fundingarrangements and technical implementation in conjunction with the position ofthe population, who need to see for themselves the common welfare throughsuch projects with concrete arguments of in situ measurements and by means ofadequate modeling for demanding processes.

© 2002 WIT Press, Ashurst Lodge, Southampton, SO40 7AA, UK. All rights reserved.Web: www.witpress.com Email [email protected] from: Coastal Environment, CA Brebbia (Editor).ISBN 1-85312-921-6

~4 Coastal Environment

1 Introduction

Strategies concerning water and sea protection from pollution in Croatia arebased on legislation as adopted by the Parliament, and their implementation,taking into consideration financial capabilities local- and national-wise, Prioritiesand long-term plans are defined in accordance with such capabilities. Adoptedlaws are adjusted with the European Union laws and directives, and also with theMeditemanean Action Plan guidelines, since Croatia is a signatory of the plan.

The current economic situation in the Republic of Croatia makes it difficult toaddress water-protection issues, particularly in view of the fact that thepercentage of developed sewer systems in the Croatian littoral, being topical tothis separate, is rather low.

The main preoccupation of the Republic of Croatia and Hrvatske vode[Croatian Water Authorities], which is the relevant institution in charge ofpreparation and implementation of strategies related to water-supply and water-protection, was construction of water-supply systems. With respect to theindebtedness of the Croatian Adriatic coast and lack of sufficient water quantitieson the islands, transportation of water from the mainland has been top priority,and a rather technically and financially demanding task. Prospects in tourismwere quite an incentive for such huge undertakings. The percentage ofpopulation coverage by water-supply systems is in excess of 90Y0, However,parallel to such tasks, construction of disposal facilities was not initiated, so thatwastewater quantities grew tenfold on account of improved water supply.

The total length of the Croatian coast in-bebween its border with Montenegroin the east and Slovenia in the west is 700 km in a straight line, whilst its actuallength, together with the islands, equals approx. 6000 km. The load of pollutiondischarged along the Croatian Adriatic coast, together with the population,tourists at the height of tourist seasons, and industries (fortunately not foul innature) amounts to approx. 2,220,000 PE, Having in mind that the load by theItalian littoral alone is approx. 30,000,000 PE, it is obvious that the north of theAdriatic is in a better condition, and that the pollution loads are not significantglobally so that they could impact the sea eutrophication-wise. On account ofundeveloped sewage systems and direct coastal wastewater discharging, thereexists a markedly local pollution in the Croatian littoral, with the highestconcentrations in the area of Ka5tela Bay, because of a large number of coastalwastewater discharges.

The towns of Split, Solin, KaStela and Trogir, as well as the communities onthe island of ~iovo, all located around Kaitela Bay, underwent intensivedevelopment and urbanization after W.W.II. Population numbers have tripled inthe past 40 years; thus, there were approximately 109,000 inhabitants in the areain 1953, while today they number around 300,000, Industries, transportation andcommerce have been developing shoulder-to-shoulder with the increase inpopulation, The city of Split is the centre of Dalmatia, with a marked tendency offiu-ther expansion. Unfortunately, urban planning diverted development, and


Coasta[ Environment 15

particularly that of industries, to the Kai$telaBay are% so that the small bay, withlimited capacities, has been rather devastated and polluted.

Kailtela Bay is a semi-closed marine area with monthly sea changes in itsmid-section, The borders of the bay, particularly in its east, with the highestpollution concentrations, undergo minimal sea changes.

With respect to the shallow sea in the eastern part of the bay and theconcentration of coastal discharges fkom the population and industries (brewery,meat-processing plant, dairy), that is, for the reason of high organic matterinputs, particularly in the summer, when sea temperatures are rather high, thereoccurs the so-called “red bloom”. Due to the lack of oxygen in the sea under suchpollution conditions, a special species of zoo-plankton propagate with reddisheffects, while the fish suffocate.

No sewage system whatsoever has been constructed in the major part of theTrogir, Kaiftela and ~iovo Island area, so the bulk of wastewater is beingcollected in septic tanks, All wastewater is disposed of into the coastal sea eitherdirectly or indirectly, but with no treatment.

In the region of Split the situation is somewhat better as far as development ofsewage networks is concerned; however, all wastewater is also disposed of intothe coastal sea by a number of coastal discharges, bar the section of wastewaterof the so-called south catchment, which are discharged by a submarine outfallinto the Brad Channel with prior screening treatment.


16 coastal Environment

Due to such pollution conditions, Ka3tela Bay was declared the largest blackspot in the Croatian littoral, and was given priority by the Croatian Parliament inaddressing its issues.

With regard to the national priority and the willingness of the towns toimplement the subprojects, the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction andDevelopment (HBOR) commenced negotiations concerning possible creditarrangements with the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstructionand Development respectively.

2 EKO-KaWela Bay Project Concept

The main task in planning the infrastructure facilities was to fmd solutions for asewage system and wastewater disposal. Notwithstanding, while sizing the EKO-Ka3tela Bay Project, as it is officially called, it was also suggested that theexisting water supply system of the towns around the bay be extended andimproved, because of regular summer water rationing, particularly in the west,i.e. the town of Trogir and the island of ~iovo.

Thus, three subprojects were defined under the EKO-KaNela Bay Project,viz.:

A) Split-Solin Sewerage System; B) Ka5tela-Trogir Sewerage System; and,C) Split-Solin-Ka3tela-Trogir Water Supply System.

The subprojects had initially been technically defined in the 70s, while thefinal sewage system concepts were adopted in the 90s.

The main precondition set by the foreign banks for their Loan Agreementsnegotiations concerned preparation of feasibility stmdies that would confmtechnical concepts of the infrastructure facilities or suggest some other optimalones. Those studies were prepared in 1996, fully conftig that the concepts asproposed by local designers were correct, so that preparations regarding thesigning of Loan Agreements could be commenced. One particular conditionstressed by the banks concerned environmental standards, which were also metunder the proposed systems.

2.1 Wastewater Disposal

Long-temn oceanographic researches indicated that the Ka5tela Bay sea, being asemi-closed marine area, should not be the recipient of treated wastewater;instead, feasible options in wastewater disposal require sea with highercapacities, in this case the Brad and Split Channels respectively, located withoutthe bay,

Further tasks during the preparatory stage concerned investigation of thecapacities of the channels as recipients, their sensitivity, and thus definition ofthe ratio of treatment degree and wastewater disposal by submarine outfalls.Results of the study and key conclusions revealed that both channels are able toreceive far larger quantities of waste matter without any impacts on the marineeco-system. Thus a phased development of wastewater treatment plants wasfacilitated.


coastal Environment 17

Moreover, by means of further elaborations and technical reviews of theundertaking, the solution with two sewage systems with two treatment plants andtwo submarine outfalls with discharges into the Split and Brat Channels wasadopted as optimal. Thus the sewage systems were defined for the towns ofKa3tela-Trogir and Split-Solin respectively.

PROJEKT EKO-KA~TELANSKl ZALJEVMMllzAehlslaSusTAvl

KAw-suKA$TELA-TROGIR

.-.

I SRA~KlKANAL \—.

SPLtTSKl KANALFigure 2: Sewerage systems

Since the degree of sewage network development varies within both systems,it was agreed that the systems be constructed in phases, wherein Phase 1 wouldserve as the backbone, with all key and common structures. Phase 2, which is notcovered by the EKO projec~ shall comprise extension of the secondary networkviz. an increase in capacities of each system, and, in accordance with applicablelaws, construction of a plant with a higher degree of treatment.

Split-Solin Sewerage System (Phase 1) comprises a sewer network andpipelines approx. 33 km long; 6 pumping stations, the largest with the capacityof 720 I/s; a 2512 m long hydrotechnical tunnel with the 17 mz profile; amechanical treatment plant with a rough 10-mm screen and a fme 2-mm screen,incl. grit and grease removal; and a 2750 m long submarine outfall, of which 950m runs through the Stobret cove, and the remaining 1800 m from the Stobre5promontory to the open sea.

Ka3tela-Trogir Sewerage System comprises sewer mains and pipelinesapprox. 45 km long; 6 large pumping stations with the power rating of 52-150kWh and 13 small ones with 1-13 kWh; a 2800 m long hydrotechnical tunnel; a2300 m long underwater crossing between the mainland and the island of ~iovo;a mechanical treatment plant with fme and rough screens (2 and 10 mmrespectively), incl. grit and grease removal; and a 2200 m long submarine outfall.

Both sewage systems would be furnished with a remote contro~monitoringsystem with two sub-centres and a main centre on the premises of the municipalutility.


18 coastal Environment

2.2 Extension and Improvement of the Split-Solin-Kaitela-Trogir WaterSupply System

The existing water supply system of the towns of Split, Solin Ka.3telaand Trogiris based on water intake at the Jadro River spring in Solin and transportation ofwater to consumers by gravity channels, both in the direction of Split, as well asof Solin-Kaitela-Trogir.

During the past decades the development of the system has not been able torespond to the increasing water demands on account of lack of finances.Consequently, capacities of the major transpotidistribution facilities Qipelines,pumping stations, water reservoirs) are either insufficient or their operatiomlproperties do not meet reliability standards.

This project covers priority structures that will bring about majorimprovements with smallest possible investments, and that will also fit into thelong-term system development concept.

The Water Supply System comprises eight separate structures in total. The“backbone” of the system is made of the following facilities.

CITY OF SPLIT PUMPING STATION, capacity 2000 l/s, for water-purnping to urban reservoirs.

SOLIN, KA$YIELAAND TROGIR PUMPING STATION, capacity 1000 l/s,with an intake basin for the direction of Solin, Kaitela and Trogir; new waterreservoirs (5000 mz).

MAIN PIPELINE THROUGH KA~TELA, 11.4 km in length, 800 and 700MM in diameter.

WATER RESERVOIR IN KA~TELA, capacity 3000 m3, and WO localsubsystems with pumping stations and recons~ction of approx. 5 km of pipenetwork.

PROJEKTEKO-KA~TELANSKlZALJEVvOoooPaKRaKl SUSTAV SPUT40LIN-KASTELA-TROGIR

PoaouwulaoGuwuA

,..,,,, ,,, : KA$TELA.** . -+ ,’7

-, ,~%’,,: % :?” SOIJN.2., :,’.. .... - -r :~i: .~,’, ,.:,,’ . .

,’ “ >,:“:.,,.. KA$TELANSKI ZALJEV

,,,, TROGIR

.,2, :;&. r

~-

,:-., .’. .. . . . ...’. x ,.”$!,.m, r.,‘ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

<

... /...,.:’.....’.*W

rn.z : fy~ ‘“”’r ;P;- : - ‘“:,.

faovo

\Figure 3: Split-Solin-Ka.5tela-Trogir Water Supply System


Coastal Environment 19

EXTENSION OF REMOTE CONTROL AND MONITORING SYSTEM.This system shall also be furnished with a remote control and monitoring system,

3 Problems in Setting Up, Implementation and Progress ofProject

All interested parties agreed that the construction of proposed facilities would bemanaged as a unified, common investment, both in terms of selection ofstructures, as well as repayment of loans, with the investment framework asdescribed in Clause 4.

With respect to the complexity of the Project and related organizational,technical and financial demands, and particularly the magnitude of theinvestment and varied interests of the population in this large area, it wasdetermined that a professional centre would have to be established, to be incharge of preparation and implementation of this unique and demanding Project,beneficial not only to the towns and the County, but also to the Republic ofCroatia. It was taken into consideration that the existing municipal organizationwas not adequately structured and lacked proper personnel for preparation andconstruction of proposed structures, and was also limited by applicable laws tostrict maintenance of water supply and wastewater disposal facilities, Thereforethe Republic of Croatia, the Split-Dalmatian County, the towns of Split, Solin,KaMela and Trogir, Hrvatske vode, and Vodovod i kanalizacija d.o.o. Splitfounded the EKO-Ka3tela Bay agency, charged exclusively with preparation andconstruction of proposed structures. EKO Agency would cease its operationsonce the whole assignment has been completed and commissioned to the end-user, viz. Vodovod i kanalizacija d.o,o, Split,

A very significant issue concerning the project being regarded as integral anda joint investment for all four towns and municipalities where the facilities arebeing constructed, is that the local fimding sources are being covered jointly bythe citizens and that the price of each m3 of water consumed is the same in alltowns and municipalities, i.e. EUR 0.16, regardless of investment values inrespective communities. Obviously, the city of Split is bearing the brunt, but isaware that the project would not have been effected had it not been for the unity,i.e. proportional investment ratios would render charges in other towns be three-or four-fold.

The Agency got clearance to start its operations in April 1998. It was plannedthat the terms of reference, and thus preparation of final designs, be commencedsimultaneously, as projected by the implementation progress plan. However, theMunicipality of Okrug, where a wastewater treatment plant was supposed to bebuilt under the Ka5tela-Trogir Sewerage System, declined such construction.That project was stopped at the time. Talks with the Okrug Municipality wenton, possible solutions were sought, and the activities concerning this subprojectwere restarted once a new acceptable system variant was found inrnid-2001, The


20 Coastal Environtnenl

other two subprojects were commenced unhindered, the consultants in charge offinal designs starting their works in December 1998.

It should be particularly pointed out that there exist problems concerningapplicable laws dealing with construction of such large public facilities, e.g. theBuilding Act, disorderly and unkempt land registry management, which delaysland acquisition tasks that are prerogative for issuance of final building permits.

Planning and siting of idiastructure facilities, adoption of such plans, whichare the bases for obtainment of all requisite permits, nowadays represents greathindrances in construction in Croatia, Since those infrastructure facilities aresited within very communities, while the land registry documentation is in arather unorderly condition, administrative problems turn out to be almostimpossible to deal with. Let us illustrate this with some of our experiences in thisregard.

The Agency executed international bidding procedures for five capitalstructures in the amount of EUR 25 million, and entered into contracts withcontractors in February 2001, We were issued first building permits in October2001, and the last one from the package of five in March 2002. Thus we have theselected contractors, in general not very busy under current unsound economicconditions in Croatia, with funding sources secured and available, that have towait for almost a year to commence construction on account of theaforementioned issues. One need not point out various problems that this factcreates in management of such complex assignments. Planning ofimplementation schedules, securing loan funds as per projected timetables, etc.,cause unnecessary expenditures related to scheduled but unutilized fl.mds. Thetime required to sort out such administrative issues cannot be predicted, for itcould take two months, or as much as up to a year.

The issues we have come upon in the course of the Project vary in nature, andsuch unpleasant experiences were direction signs to the legislators as to how thelaws and acts should be modified; unfortunately, for the time being this Projecthas had no benefits from such changes. It would have been better to constructmore sewers, and even secondary networks, than pay penalties to the banks.

As to the Ka&ela-Trogir sewerage system the major obstacle to theimplementation lies in zoning documents that is generally adopted on theregional, i.e. county, level. Namely, in view of the system concept modification,it was necessary to embody it in official written documents.

All water-protection related projects, and particularly with structures such astreatment plants or submarine outfalls, are marked with resistance frompopulation to projected sites. The most recent opposition, caused by a part of theStobrefi community population, concerned the Split-Solin sewage system. Thisopposition and resistance is not a feature in the temperament of the population inthe area of Ka?itela Bay; such an effect is world-renowned as the “NIMBY”syndrome. A similar resistance, undoubtedly with certain political undertones,resulted in the Ka5tela-Trogir sewage implementation delays of approx. 3 years.

In order to strengthen the position of the professionals as to selection of theactual length of the submarine outfall, in addition to design calculations and one-year oceanographic investigations, mathematical and physical models were also


Coastal Envit-onnwnt 21

prepared for additional safety and to eliminate any fears the population living inthe construction area might have.

Our disagreeable experiences in relations with the public in the above caseshould help in Mure construction of similar structures, so that theimplementation schedules may be set in more realistic terms, which will renderprojects more rational investment-wise.

In the light of Croatia being oriented towards tourism the so-called Adriaticprogramme will be initiated next year, to be backed up by an IBRD loan, withthe total value amounting to EUR 180 million. It comprises quite a number ofsmall-scale sewage systems in the littoral and islands. Experience will have to beutilized from previous projects, for use of rationality can help achieve significantbenefits.

In spite of all the problems in setting up construction, obtainment of buildingpermits and settlement of land acquisition issues, execution of international andnational bidding procedures, selection of contractors and monitoring ofoperations in the field, it can be concluded that the works are under way withcertain lags that need not have occurred, that there are obstacles in applicablelaws, administrative torpidity, unorderly and unkempt land registry records, andthat there is the expected resistance of the locals to construction of suchstructures.

However, all key structures under the Split-Solin sewage system, bar a smallsection of the additional network that had been incorporated into the Projectsubsequently, have been contracted and granted valid and final building permitsand are under construction, while some of them have already been completed.There is no reason whatsoever that those structures should not be completed andput into trial operation as scheduled, viz. in the f~st half of 2003, before thetourist season.

The key structures under the subproject of extension and improvement of theSplit-Solin-Kaitela-Trogir water supply, have also all been contracted andgranted valid building permits and are under construction; they are to becompleted and put into trial operation by rnid-2003.

The KaNela-Trogir Sewage System, which has been obstructed the most dueto faulty preparations has only just reached its initial stage, viz. the internationalfinal design and tender documents bidding procedure has been commenced; itsenvironmental impact assessment will have undergone public review andlocation permits obtained by the end of June 2002. This corresponds with theadoption of zoning plans, and, should all the above deadlines be met, all workswill be completed and put into operation in the fust half of 2006.

Local fms have been successfid in all the final design-, supervision- andconstruction-related biddings. Construction is under way as per stipulatedschedules and the local fms have been executing rather complex tasksexceptionally well, For the biddings under the project two consortia wereformed, with the fm of Konstruktor-InZenjering d.d. and Lavi5evi6 d.d,respectively, both of Split, Croatia, as the leading partners.


22 Coastal Environment

4 Financial Flow

The EKO-Kaiitela Bay Investment Programrne was adopted in 1998, with thetotal investment value amounting to EUR 133.3 roil. Due to subsequentrequirements, the scheduled investment value was raised to EUR 143.2 roil. inJuly 2001.

In addition to taking part in Project funding, the fm of Vodovod ikanalizacija d.o,o. Split and Hrvatske vode Zagreb also undertook the obligationto repay the EBRD and IBRD loans, The loans will have to be repaid by 2011(EBRD) and 2013 (TBRD).

Vodovod i kanalizacija d.o.o. Split provides investment t!l.mdsfor the Projectand loan repayment from water surcharges amounting to EUR 0,16 per 1 m3.When the amount of water surcharges was being determined it was necessary tomake sure that the living standard of the local population would not becompromised and also that such fhnds would be stilcient for Projectimplementation purposes. That is the very reason for the extension of the lastdates of the loans, with their repayment projected to take 11 and 10 yearsrespectively,

u. TOTreck .=-s ~ ~, t

U. T. TOTAL (main) 91,3@-A, ~, Split-SOlin Sewerage I “—

31,468. “,,

%lit..Sniin-Ka.5tela. i

Table 1: Project expenditure schedule per systems and funding sources

2000

:::!%,+ / }33,301 30,677 I 33,233 I 63S01 I 4,449 ~ 11,501

30,677 ! 33233 : 33,78 I 4J43 / 5,674

9,014 13,51cj 4,76j 4,254 4,621

0,~ 18,92X 17,29fj 0,074 0,885, I

q , “q “q 0’16821,651 0,~

IV+ 0,7951 2,814 0,~ 0,(

i 0,0jm- +u!L ml

Hrvatske vode Zagreb provides funds for the Project and loan repayment from asection of collected water use and protection charges.

Namely, Hrvatske vode collect charges for use and protection of waters, and50 per cent of such funds collected in the Project region return into the projectboth in the construction and loan repayment phases.

It should be pointed out that Vodovod i kanalizacija d.o.o, Split and Hrvatskevode Zagreb collect funds from the customers for the Project within the very areaof Project implementation,

Financial aspects of such projects generally need to be defined in accordancewith the implementation schedule. Since there occurred certain delays during the


Coastal Environment 23

implementation of the three subprojects for reasons indicated above, thescheduled and adopted financial plan has been impacted, there have been certainfinancial penalties, which renders financial implementation difficult. Thereforethe Agency Board and the Agency itself are trying to minimize such issues anduse available means in the best possible fashion.

Table 2: Financial flow during the periods of construction and loan repaymentNet total turnover - cumulative

year

19971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013

TOTALEUR

0,191,697,53

11,5213,2412,4910,287,494,872,631,330,470,080,160,674,90

11,04

5 Conclusion

Even though there exist huge difilculties in development of water-protectionfacilities and other infrastructure segments, particularly because of an extremelycomplex financial situation in Croatia, it is still quite possible to protect the seaand the environment from pollution even under such circumstances. In particular,tourism on the Adriatic coast and the islands is one of the major reasons for thestate to take part along with local self-government units, as in the describedproject of EKO-Ka!5telaBay.

Experience gained during this project shows that all possible obstacles inimplementation should be foreseen more carefilly, and also that certain spaces oftime should be added to technical and financial “ideal” scheduled deadlines forthe purpose of contingencies. It particularly concerns the financial segment,where one need not invest too speedily into credit arrangements for a wholecomplex project, but should rather better manage it per separate units and withinreasonable time-flames,

The very management of such large-scale projects reveals all issues hinderingtheir implementation, such as adoption of zoning plans, land registry-relatedconditions linked with land acquisition in attractive areas, pursuit for favorablecredit arrangements, and selection of professional teams required forimplementation,


24 Coasta[ Environment

Similar future projects to come will benefit greatly from the experiencesgained in the Ka.5tela Bay project, especially when seeking the savoir faire inpublic relations. Preparation of various models, from mathematical to physical,provides stronger arguments and are more figurative and articulate to the public.

That is particularly valid for the new large-scale project that is being plannedin Croatia by the name of “Adriatic”, driven by tourist-related motifs andrequirements for sanitary correct use of sea, for which the negotiations with theWorld Bank are currently under way. It comprises a string of sewage systems incoastal and insular small and medium communities, with the estimated value ofUSD 180 nil.

Croatia, being a potential EU member, and in spite of her very limitedfinancial means, is able to fidfill obligations within reasonable time-frames inaccordance with EU applicable laws, as well as others she is signatory to, butwill have to implant the experience acquired in management of such projects intoher laws and acts, which are currently not that adequate.

References

[1] MEIP Investment Programme, November 1997.[2] Southern Waters UK, DHV Netherlands, Hidroprojekt-ing Zagreb, IGH

Zagreb. MEIP Feasibili~ Study, February 1996.[3] IGH Zagreb, PC Rijeka. Final design - Split-Solin Sewerage System, Phase

1, September 1999.[4] Revised Investment Programme, May 2001.


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