EU Cohesion Policy: more than €65 million for a better water and wastewater infrastructure in Sibiu County in Romania

Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms, Elisa Ferreira, said: “Cohesion Policy is about concretely improving the living conditions for citizens in the EU in all regions. This project will significantly upgrade the living conditions of more than 35,000 citizens by improving the water and wastewater network.” The project will rehabilitate existing main water pipes and the distribution system and will expand the network. It will also build 26 new water pumping stations and rehabilitate old ones, 25 new drinking storage tanks and 25 new chlorination stations. For wastewater, the project will lay 55 km of new sewerage network, rehabilitate 74.7 km of the existing network, and finance a wastewater treatment plant in Șeica Mare. Furthermore, this EU investment will help upgrade the control systems to monitor the water quality and it is estimated to create 33 permanent jobs for staff for the maintenance and operation of the infrastructure. Finally, it will reduce pollutants in water sources and ensure a continuous supply of safe drinking water and will have a long-lasting positive impact on public health while contributing to compliance with the EU Drinking Water and Urban Wastewater Directives. The full project is expected to be finalised in 2026. With this project, a total of €139 million are being financed by the EU Cohesion Policy funds in the Sibiu County within the 2014-2020 programming period funds. The effort is part of a vaster plan to improve water and wastewater infrastructure across Romania and, in the Sibiu County, it is  complementary to two EU major projects covering other parts of the County for which financing was approved in February 2017 and March 2022. More details about Cohesion Policy investments in Romania are available in the Open Data Platform and on the Kohesio platform.