On Wednesday, May 12, ECHO and its partner, OXFAM, together with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia water companies (MAKKOM), formally launched a water project worth some 300,000 DM.
The project, implemented as an emergency response to an appeal from fYROM, will enable the Macedonian water authorities to provide clean drinking water for the entire population of fYROM, over 2m people.

ECHO, through its implementing partner, OXFAM, has provided 60 tonnes of chlorine gas and 360 tonnes of aluminum sulphate. This will help to purify 1.3 million cubic metres of water per day for fYROM for a period of three months -- June, July and August.

The ongoing Kosovo crisis has disrupted the transport of chlorine from Romania to Macedonia, hence the appeal for assistance to bring water supplies up to safe standards for drinking. Through OXFAM, ECHO has provided financial and technical assistance to source chlorine and sulphate supplies and to transport them to fYROM. MAKKOM was represented at the launch of the project by its technical director, Alexander Ivanovich.

This project is one component of a major water project for emergency water supplies in three refugee camps, Stankovec 1 and 2, and Cegrane.

(Daniela Cavini, Skopje)