VNG International continues its support to the Municipal Infrastructure Programme in Serbia - 09-09-11
VNG International is since January 2008 supporting the municipal infrastructure programme in Serbia. From the beginning, VNG International has been a partner of the lead company Eptisa and we are proud that after the two previous phases of this EU-funded programme we have now been given the opportunity to complete our work through this contract for the third phase.
The Municipal Infrastructure Support Programme (MISP) was launched by the European Commission in 2007 aiming at two main objectives:
- to provide technical support to all Serbian municipalities in the planning and implementation of municipal infrastructure projects, mainly related to water supply, wastewater treatment, and the collection and disposal or municipal solid waste, and;
- to provide legal, managerial and technical support to the public utility companies in charge for the delivery of municipal infrastructure services.
In the next three years, the project team will assist the Serbian authorities in the preparation and prioritisation of municipal and socio-economic infrastructure projects. The team will also undertake several feasibility studies for the construction of environmental and socio-economic infrastructures. Finally, the team will continue providing advice about the technical and financial management of the public utility companies in charge of municipal infrastructure services. VNG International’s team of experts will mainly focus on assisting the Serbian authorities in the programming and development of municipal infrastructure projects.
The new project has a total budget of €5.1 million and will run for three years. The three phases of MISP represent together a budget of €18.5 million, confirming the European Union’s commitment to assist Serbia in improving municipal infrastructure services and the overall development of local governance.
The award of the third phase of the programme is another utter appreciation of our work by our partners in Serbia: the Ministry of Economy and Regional Development, our sister association the Standing Conference of Towns and Municipalities, Regional Development Agencies, several local governments and municipal authorities, and the European Commission.
VNG International is one of the most successful local government consulting agencies in the Western Balkans. We are currently implementing municipal development projects in Serbia, Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey.
For more information about MISP and VNG International, please visit the websites www.misp-serbia.rs and www.vng-international.nl.