Construction on the wastewater treatment station in Bulgaria's largest Danube River city of Rousse started on October 1. The station is part of the large integrated water project for Rousse financed under the Ispa pre-accession programme of the European Union.

Rousse's wastewater treatment station will cost 22.8 million euro, of which 20.6 million are paid for under Ispa and the rest is financed by the state budget. The station will have complete biological treatment cycle including the collection of nitrogen and phosphorus, servicing more than 240 000 residents in Rousse municipality, Dnevnik daily reported.

During the opening of the new wastewater treatment station in Pazardjik on September 29, Environment Minister Djevdet Chakurov called on all local municipalities with population of more than 10 000 people to submit project proposals for similar wastewater treatment units. The projects are financed under EU's Environment operational programme: there are 510 million leva waiting to be distributed for that purpose throughout Bulgaria.

The Environment Ministry is collecting project proposals until December 15 2008, Chakurov said. He called on municipalities to be more active, as the construction of wastewater treatment stations in regions with more than 10 000 residents until 2010 is one of the commitments Bulgaria made when joining the EU.