Establishment of the IMC Initiating Cooperation

The process, from expression of municipalities’ willingness to cooperate to the present establishment and operation of KRWM company, was a long-term exercise involving a seven year time-span (2001–2008).

Mayors of the five municipalities in the Korça region, namely the Mayors of Korça, Pogradec, Erseka, Maliq and Bilisht, carried out the initial cooperation steps in 2001. The initiative, apart from resolving the issue of waste management in the given municipalities, also aimed at making further use of the good cooperation and investment opportunities

offered by KfW. The latter had a very good track record of investment projects in Korça municipality, particularly with the set up of the water company that provided 24 hours drinking water to Korça city.⁴⁰ Investment in waste management for the region would also help the success and sustainability for two already ongoing interventions financed by KfW, i.e., the protection and preservation of Ohrid Lake watershed, in which several municipalities and communes have located dump sites, and the set up of a drinking water system from an aquifer that was exposed to high pollution levels with the illegal dump site on the top crust layer.

The five municipal mayors signed an official agreement expressing intent and will-ingness to cooperate in setting up a joint waste management system. The agreement stipulated that member municipalities are willing to: use the system immediately and in the future; accordingly arrange existing contractual arrangements and collection systems;

apply adequate unified and standardized collection and transportation of waste to a com-mon landfill; ensure equality for all participating members; use a comcom-mon landfill for all members; be open to include other local units in the region that would want to share the system and are prepared to bear their share of the cost for running it.

Carrying out the Feasibility Study

The initiators carried out successful negotiations with KfW which, in 2003, financed the feasibility and a site selection study for a regional landfill. The studies were carried out under the auspices of Korça Municipality, which was leading the process on behalf of the initiators group. The results of the feasibility study, which aimed to improve en-vironmental conditions, minimize health risks and contribute to sustainable economic and social development by means of a modern waste management system, were:

A compilation of all the necessary information and planning documents of the investment project covering all technical, organizational, economic, financial, environmental and social aspects.

Provide foundation for decision-making on the part of the Albanian and the German authority (KfW) with regard to the completion of the project and its financing scheme.

Having generated a very thorough analysis of the waste management situation in the region of Korça, the feasibility study was successfully carried out. It analyzed all of the aspects of waste management in the region, including: a description of the present situ-ation in the project area, geographical, hydrological and climatic data, populsitu-ation data, and demographic development. It also included socio-economic analyses of environmental awareness, up-to-date solid waste management systems in the project area, up-to-date waste management services analysis, the design basis of the waste management system, and an assessment and comparison of conceptual alternatives for treatment of all waste categories.

The partners implementing the feasibility study conducted also obtained relevant approvals from the National Territory Regulation Council for the selected site and design, and a draft statute and program for the selected legal form of the Waste Management Association. They succeeded in extending the service area, including communes, bring-ing population coverage up to 80 percent of those inhabitbring-ing the region.

The outcome of the feasibility study also included recommendations for provisional measures to prepare the community to actively take part in a new waste management system, introduce systems for recycling and reuse, and refurbish existing dumpsites so that they reach an acceptable standard.

Undertaking Intermediate Measures

Supported financially by SIDA and grounded in the recommendations of the feasibility study, the initiators carried out suggested intermediate measures which targeted both local government tiers in Korça region.

At the second tier local level, activities were carried out to support regional authori-ties in:

Coordinating and supporting municipalities;

Establishing a system for distribution of regulations, registration, monitoring, and education;

Launching public awareness campaigns for waste reduction, recycling and similarly related issues;

Establishing a Regional Funding Facility for projects carried out in the munici-palities and communes;

Carrying out a study of demolition waste and formulating local rules and regu-lations.

At the first tier local level, activities were carried out to:

Undertake a recycling project involving the Roma;

Start up source separation of recyclables from households in a pilot area;

Establish a source separation system for waste like garden waste and organic waste;

Construct a pilot composting plant;

Improve selected existing dumps taking into consideration that most of them will still be in operation for a number of years;

Encourage and start up waste collection in villages;

Support awareness campaigns for the separation of hazardous waste, recycling and waste reduction;

Assist municipalities and communes in their preparation of Local Solid Waste Plans;

Draft a structure for a municipal fee system aiming at covering all costs related to waste collection and treatment including customer registration.

IMC Legally Set Up

The Association was legally established in June 2008, at the first meeting of the Share-holders Assembly. The bridging phase project, supported by KfW, started with assistance in 2008 to institutionally strengthen the waste management association and provide resources for the staff to acquire knowledge and skills to properly run the KRWA.

Support for the bridging phase was a continuation of KfW’s commitment since the preparation of the feasibility study, carried out between 2003 and 2005. KRWM also benefited from the SIDA-funded project a donation of office equipment and a vehicle, and from expertise that was provided by KfW.

Challenges Faced

Lack of capacity and experience. Given the standards required for waste management, technical knowledge in Albania is scarce. The knowledge gap was filled by providing international expertise on landfill engineering design and waste management techniques, and economic analysis for various waste treatment scenarios including the ability of the population to bear the cost, waste composition analysis and future projections. Lack of experience was also matched with external expertise for institutional issues and to build the structural architecture of KRWM.

Increased costs when compared with the current level of financing for waste management by partner municipalities. The commitment to set up a sustain-able waste management association with improved service performance was directly related to increased costs. Since waste treatment and disposal are to be introduced for the first time in the waste management chain, overall costs are increased. Several communes/municipalities have difficulties proposing the necessary increase in cleaning fees, particularly when the fee increase must first be applied before the service standard is visibly improved.

Reluctance to cooperate. Anticipated members of KRWM had to be convinced, mainly through analysis and observations of the feasibility study, that the joint landfill is the optimal available solution.

Distance involved and lack of infrastructure. Joint waste management is difficult in the mountainous Korça region because of its terrain and also due to poor infrastructure. Several technical solutions (including transfer stations) are offered by experts. Transfer stations are envisioned to facilitate waste transportation and

compensate for the difference in distance to the landfill for various local units.

However the poor road infrastructure remains a challenge.

Main Success Factors Are:

Expected increase of service quality. A better waste management service through this regional enterprise is expected by member municipalities and the community;

Collaboration and common sense among central, local government and commu-nity actors has accompanied the process;

Continuous support by KfW and expertise provided;

External assistance has been and remains crucial for the set up of an operational and sustainable IMC. Several experts have contributed in the following areas: law, finance, engineering and institutional relations. Without the external financing and expertise thus far provided, the enterprise might not have succeeded;

Strong leadership by the mayors who began the initiative and strongly supported and guided all steps carried out so far.