Government to spend UAH 1B on improving quality of drinking water - Shmyhal

The Cabinet of Ministers plans to allocate UAH 1 billion to improve the quality of drinking water in Ukraine next year, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said.

According to the government portal, he said this during a working trip to Donetsk region on October 27, where he inspected the progress of major repairs of the second Donetsk water supply system in Sloviansk district.

Shmyhal said the quality of drinking water in Ukraine needs to be improved, and this is why the Cabinet of Ministers in April this year approved a strategy for the nationwide program "Drinking Water of Ukraine."

"The draft state budget for 2022 envisages UAH 1 billion for the program 'Drinking Water of Ukraine.' A significant percentage of centralized water supply systems in the regions are worn out, which has a negative impact on water quality. The situation needs to be changed in order to provide residents of communities with drinking water in sufficient quantities," Shmyhal said.

Repair work on the second Donetsk water pipeline is to be completed in April 2022. This will improve the quality of centralized drinking water supply services to the population of Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, Kostiantynivka and other villages in the Sloviansk and Kostiantynivka districts.

UAH 102.2 million was allocated from the State Regional Development Fund in 2020 and UAH 71.8 million in 2021 for the repair of a section of the second Donetsk water pipeline.

In addition, UAH 11.3 million was allocated from the regional budget for this project in 2020 and UAH 7.9 million in 2021.

Photo credit: kmu.gov.ua