St. Petersburg vice governor – the Neva programme will withstand no delays

In an interview with the NIB Newsletter, Vice Governor of St. Petersburg, Alexey Sergeyev, commented on recent cutbacks in the budget of the Neva Closure of Discharges of Untreated Wastewater Programme and affirmed the city’s commitment to keep its implementation on track.

The interview was recorded on 19 May 2009.

– The financial crisis has taken its toll on the financing of the Neva programme. What is the situation with the financing for the programme from the city and state budgets?

“St. Petersburg hasn’t escaped the negative effects of the current economic situation. The city government has managed, however, to keep all its social programmes intact. Nonetheless, we had to reduce the budget for the city infrastructure projects in 2009. As a result, the construction of some parts of the main sewage collector has slowed down. At the moment, the financing allocated from the city budget amounts to RUB 589 million (EUR 14 million) for 2009, RUB 865 million (EUR 20 million) for 2010 and RUB 300 million (EUR 7 million) for 2011. In the federal budget of the Russian Federation, RUB 820 million (EUR 19 million) is earmarked for 2009 and RUB 1 billion (EUR 23 million) for 2010.”

– According to its original design, the programme should be completed by 2012. Is the city committed to completing the investment programme on time?

“Certain technical aspects, for instance in operating the sewage collector, will not allow any delays in the implementation. To keep the programme on track, Vodokanal is raising loans from international financial institutions, such as NIB, the EBRD and the EIB. The banks, the city and Vodokanal are about to sign a multilateral agreement stating that St. Petersburg shall secure support for the project of a non-financial character. We are optimistic about the future. I’m sure the cutback in the programme budget for 2009 will be offset by larger injections in the coming years, so that the programme will be completed on schedule.”

– Please comment on the adjustments made in the programme due to the budget cutbacks.

“We have adjusted our plans to the current situation. The entire investment programme has been divided into two parts. Part A is now fully financed and planned to be completed by the end of 2012. This part provides for reducing direct discharges of untreated wastewater by 186,000 cubic metres a day and increasing the wastewater treatment to 2 million cubic metres a day in compliance with Helsinki Commission recommendations. Part B will ensure the newly built sewage collector is still in operation after 2012. It is aimed at achieving a maximum environmental effect by closing off an additional 60,000 cubic metres a day of direct untreated wastewater discharge into the river Neva and the Gulf of Finland. This part will be implemented when the financing is available. We are currently working on raising financing for Part B. The city and Vodokanal of St. Petersburg are determined to implement the investment programme to the fullest extent.”

– What is the full scope of the works and what has already been done?

“The programme includes the completion of the main sewage collector and the reconstruction of the Northern and Central wastewater treatment plants. The programme’s total costs top EUR 560 million. A large portion of the programme, costing EUR 180 million, was implemented in 2007-2008. The launch of the first leg of the sewage collection tunnel last year has reduced the direct discharge of untreated wastewater by 90,000 cubic metres a day. Much has already been done in the second leg of the tunnel and in building a network of micro tunnels. The reconstruction of the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant is an essential part of the whole effort. In 2007, we reduced the effluent phosphorus concentration to 1 mg/l. Now the aim is to reduce it further to 0.5 mg/l. We are also introducing modern technologies for removing nitrogen, storing and dosing chemicals, reconstructing the wastewater storage tanks, etc.”

– When do you expect to complete the second leg of the main sewage collector and the Ohta sewage collector?

“The second leg in the northern part of the city will be constructed when the necessary financing has been raised. We plan to finish this project no later than in 2012. The construction of a sewage collector along the river Ohta has been deemed inefficient. Instead, we are considering building two local wastewater treatment facilities for collecting discharges from this part of the city. The capacity of these facilities will amount to 20,000 cubic metres a day.”

– How well aware are the city’s inhabitants of the programme?

“The issue of clean water and wastewater treatment has been actively discussed in St. Petersburg over the last five years. This is thanks to the improvements Vodokanal has made in the city’s water management. This summer, modern technologies for purifying drinking water will fully replace the outdated chlorination, which is a major step in this area. These improvements are obvious to everyone, and the city government has shown appreciation for Vodokanal’s accomplishments. The company has become a reputable partner to IFIs. Four years ago, its head, Felix Karmazinov, was awarded the title of honorary citizen of St. Petersburg.”

– What is your assessment of the IFI part in improving the treatment of the city’s wastewater?

“The NDEP and NIB are the largest international financiers of the project, providing a EUR 24 million grant and a EUR 25 million loan respectively. The NDEP has been involved in the project from the beginning and was in fact one of its initiators. NIB is the lead bank for structuring the project financing. I would like to thank the international financial institutions and foreign organisations for their contributions in improving the environmental status of our inland waters, the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea.”

– Are there other projects where IFI involvement can benefit the city?

“Decreasing environmental impacts is one of the principal areas of cooperation with IFIs. This may include the reconstruction of sediment storage facilities, which would lead to decreasing toxic discharges and reducing the area used for sludge storing. Another possible area could be the improvement of water supply and wastewater management in St. Petersburg suburbs: 71 townships with a population of 120,000. We are also considering a programme aimed at modernising water management, reducing energy consumption by about 40%, decreasing conveyance losses of drinking water, introducing an automatic levelling of water feed pressure, etc. Finally, IFIs could cofinance the introduction of technologies for generating biogas from wastewater sludge.”