National
Development Agency

Funding amounting to 607 million HUF has been made available within the framework of the Environment and Energy Operational Programme to implement this development costing 760 million HUF to complete. This investment will improve the quality of life of more than 2,000 residents and will also better protect subsurface waters. The assistance contract underpinning this EU-funded project has just been signed in Rózsaszentmárton.

The sewerage network as well as a small capacity sewage treatment plant were built back in the 1960s in the mining housing estate area of Rózsaszentmárton. However, less than 20% of households are connected to this network and the sewage treatment plant fails to satisfy modern requirements. Sewage is deposited in septic tanks in the vast part of this settlement, which tanks, however, have not been constructed in compliance with standards and requirements, pollute the soil and endanger subsurface waters. Last year the settlement has been wanting to resolve this sewage problem for a long time, and consequently established a water utility association and began to put money aside to ensure the own funds needed. The settlement has submitted several applications under various schemes, and has finally managed to secure the funding required within the framework of an EEOP scheme. The settlement was granted more than 17 million HUF to prepare this project, which covered costs arising in connection with compiling a feasibility study, drafting permit plans for the drainage network and the sewage treatment plant, in addition to obtaining the water permit required for construction. The settlement submitted its second-round application in autumn last year and the project was given the green light in February this year.    

A 210 cubic-metre/day capacity modern sewage treatment plant and a nearly 36 kilometre-long sewage drainage network will be constructed within the framework of this investment. Most of this network will be comprised of gravitational pipes; 6 municipal pumping stations and 21 domestic pumping stations will be set up in the settlement where nearly the entire population will eventually be connected to this network (94%). The life of residents living in this settlement will become more convenient and real estate prices will go up as an outcome of this development. The settlement lies in a protected area sensitive to water quality, which is why the way in which threats endangering subsurface waters will decrease thanks to this investment is also highly relevant. 

This investment costs 760 million HUF to complete, towards which funding amounting to 607 million HUF has been granted from EEOP, whilst the remaining amount is covered by own funds. According to plans, construction work will begin in July 2010 and will finish in July 2012. 

Over the past few years, the sewage drainage network has been expanded and modern sewage treatment plants have been built at an unprecedented pace in Hungary. Over the past 8 years the number of households connected to the sewerage network at a national level has increased from 56% to 71.3% by connecting some 700,000 households to this network. Up to 2015, sewage collected in this network will, as a minimum requirement, be biologically treated before being deposited and the number of households connected to the network will increase to 90%. The Environment and Energy Operational Programme helps attain these goals, within the framework of which funding amounting to 380 billion HUF is available over the 2007-2013 period for implementing sewage drainage and treatment projects.