SHUKALB Organizes Stakeholders Meeting on the Position Paper “Improving the Regulatory Framework for Asset Management (AM) at the Local Level”

On February 17, 2022, SHUKALB organized a virtual meeting on the Position Paper “Improving the Regulatory Framework for Asset Management (AM) at the Local Level”, with the participation of the key stakeholders of the water sector in Albania. The stakeholder meeting was organized in the framework of the project “Regional Capacity Development Network for Water and Sanitation Services (RCDN)”.

The meeting was attended by representatives from water utility members of SHUKALB, Water Regulatory Authority of Albania (WRA), National Agency for Water Supply, Sewerage and Waste Infrastructure (AKUM), the Association of Albanian Municipalities, the Association for Local Autonomy, as well as RCDN – GIZ ORF MMS.  The meeting was moderated by Mihallaq Qirjo, Director of the Resource Environmental Center, Albania.

The meeting facilitated the dialogue between the stakeholders on the developed position paper, presented the recommendations and the institutional roles of WRA and AKUM on Asset Management, the future actions on advocating for Integrated Asset Management, and collected participants’ feedback on the held positions.

The Position Paper Message is “Integrated Asset Management remains one of the weak points in the water supply and sewerage sector, not yet directly addressed. Its standardization through the improvement of the regulatory framework will lead to the improvement of the performance of these utilities and the quality of the data collected at the central level to plan towards the distribution of subsidies and support with capital investments.  Necessary interventions include support in planning by Water Supply and Sewerage Companies for asset management and human and technological capacity building for this process. SHUKALB’s experience in the field of asset management will enable Water Supply and Sewerage Companies to incorporate and use advanced information technologies which help them improve performance at the utility level and the quality of data collected by institutions at the central level”.

SHUKALB will soon submit the final draft of the Position Paper to the two main central institutions, WRA and AKUM, and will further share it with all stakeholders through various communication channels.

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