Republic of North MACEDONIA SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN 4 REGIONS OF NORTH MACEDONIA BASELINE AND FINANCING OPTIONS STUDY TERMS OF REFERENCE I. BACKGROUND A. Highlights on the regions Republic of North Macedonia is a landlocked country in the middle of the southern Balkan Peninsula with an area of 25,713 km2. It is a small, open economy well integrated into international trade, with a gross domestic product of US$11.33 billion as of 2017. The country has approx. 2.1 million inhabitants and a population density of 80.7 inhabitants per km2. The territorial distribution of the country’s population is uneven. Some 57 per cent of the population live in urban areas, mainly in the five largest cities: in the capital Skopje (population of 327.6 thousand), Kumanovo (109.3 thousand), Bitola (91.8 thousand), Tetovo (92.0 thousand) and Prilep (75.0 thousand). The legal framework on waste management in the country is centred around the 2004 Law on Waste Management which was enhanced with the adoption of the following legislation: 2009 Law on Management on Packaging and Packaging Waste, 2010 Law on Management of Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries and Accumulators, and 2012 Law on Management of Electric and Electronic Equipment and Waste Electric and Electronic Equipment. While the 2008 Strategy for Waste Management for the period 2008–2020 is valid, the National Waste Management Plan for the period 2009–2015 has expired and a new national waste management plan for the period 2018–2024 is currently being prepared. Solid waste services form part of the responsibilities delegated to the municipalities as part of the decentralization in the country. Municipalities are responsible for organizing the collection, transportation and disposal of municipal solid waste; supervising transportation and disposal of industrial non–hazardous waste, deciding on the location of waste management facilities, issuing local regulations on waste management, financing and supervising dumpsite and non-compliant landfill closures and termination of waste management facilities. Municipal Solid Waste Management (“MSWM”) is organised in planning regions as defined in the Law on Balanced Regional Development. Accordingly, there are 8 MSWM planning regions: Vardar, Eastern, Southwestern, Pelagonia, Polog, Northeastern, Skopje as well as Southeastern 1 region. The subject of this Terms of Reference (“ToR”) is Southeastern region, Southwestern region, Pelagonia and Vardar regions. Figure 1: Statistical regions in North Macedonia Source: http://www.stat.gov.mk/Publikacii/RegionalenGodisnik2018.pdf A new Waste Management Law is under consultation with relevant stakeholders; it sets out a new tariff setting methodology which involves the Regulatory Commission in setting regionally harmonised tariff that will enable for a full cost recovery. Southeast Region The Southeast Region (“SE region”) stretches across the south easternmost part of the country and covers the area of Strumica-Radovish and Gevgelija-Valandovo Valley. According to data of 2013, 173,472 inhabitants or 8.4% of the total population of Macedonia live in the region. The 2 region covers 10.63% of the total area of the country, with a population density of 62.5 inhabitants per km2. It is the fifth region in the country as per population density. SE region comprises of the following 10 municipalities: Municipality of Bogdanci, Municipality of Bosilovo, Municipality of Valandovo, Municipality of Vasilevo, Municipality of Gevgelija, Municipality of Dojran, Municipality of Konche, Municipality of Novo Selo, Municipality of Radovish and Municipality of Strumica. At present the solid waste management system in the region is very poorly developed. As indicated earlier, MSWM is under the jurisdiction of municipalities via municipal public enterprises. In terms of regionalisation, very limited regional coordination has been developed to date and each of the public enterprises operates under their own regulations. This creates a dysfunctional system having negative consequences for the entire planning region. In addition, the current waste collection, transport and disposal system does not cover the whole region, i.e. most of the villages are not covered from this system resulting in the existence and continuous creation of new illegal landfills. The largest quantities of waste generated in the region are from mining, packaging waste, absorbents, cleaning towels, filtration materials and protective clothing, thermal processes waste, construction and demolition waste, waste from agriculture, forestry, processing industry and municipal waste. Illegal dumpsites are often a result of the fact that most rural settlements do not have access to municipal solid waste collection and disposal services. Southwest, Pelagonia and Vardar Regions1 The Southwest (“SW”), Pelagonia and Vardar regions are inhabited by 220,000, 231,000 and 153,000 people, respectively (based on 2015 census data from the State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia). The population density for the three regions is 65.8 inh/km2 (SW), 49 inh/km2 (Pelagonia), and 37.9 inh/km2 (Vardar). The SW region comprises the southwest part of the Republic of North Macedonia. According to the 2017 population estimates, 10.6% of the total population in the country lived in this region. It takes up 13.4% of the total area of the country and has a population density of 65.8 citizens per km2. The configuration of the terrain, encompassing the river basins of Treska and Crn Drim and the Ohrid Lake basin. Tourism has great importance for the development of this region, mostly owing to the natural characteristics of Ohrid Lake and the cultural and historical significance of the Ohrid area, protected by UNESCO. The SW region is comprised of the following nine municipalities: Centar Župa, Debar, Debarca, Kičevo, Makedonski Brod, Ohrid, Plasnica, Struga and Vevčani. The Pelagonia Region is located in the south of the Republic of North Macedonia and comprises the Pelagonia basin and the Prespa Lake basin. This region is the largest, covering 18.9% of the total land area of the country, but also one of the most sparsely populated, having a population density of 48.8 people per km2. In 2017, 11.1% of the total population of the Republic of North 1 Information from the Statistical Yearbook: http://www.stat.gov.mk/Publikacii/RegionalenGodisnik2018.pdf 3 Macedonia lived in this region. The Prespa Lake, the Pelister National Park and the winter tourist resort Krusevo represent the basis for development of summer, winter and cultural tourism in the region. Pelagonia statistical region is divided into 9 municipalities: Bitola, Demir Hisar, Dolneni, Krivogaštani, Kruševo, Mogila, Novaci, Prilep and Resen. The Vardar Region comprises the central part of the Republic of North Macedonia and spreads along the Vardar River and Ovchepole Basin. This region had the smallest number of citizens, 7.3% of the total population, in 2017. It covers 16.2% of the area of the Republic of North Macedonia and at the same time is the most sparsely populated region with only 37.9 citizens per km2. Vardar statistical region is divided into 9 municipalities: Čaška, Demir Kapija, Gradsko, Kavadarci, Lozovo, Negotino, Rosoman, Sveti Nikole and Veles. For all three regions, extensive feasibility studies and cost benefit analyses were developed in 2017, funded by the European Union’s instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA). The title of the studies is “Preparation of necessary documents for establishing of an Integrated and financially Self-sustainable Waste Management System in Pelagonija, Southwest, Vardar and Skopje Regions”2. The feasibility studies were carried out separately for each region and include the following: Background information and review of the existing waste management system; A project description with proposed technical components; Socio-economic context of the project; Waste generation, composition (morphological data) and a future forecast; Legal and regulatory framework; An option analysis including the location of central and local waste management facilities and a description of selected sites; A proposed investment project including a conceptual design of storage facilities, transfer stations, existing dumpsites and non-compliant landfills (incl. closure and remediation activities), new regional sanitary landfills and a technical description of other proposed facilities (mechanical-biological treatment (“MBT”), material recovery facility (“MRF”), green waste composting plant); CAPEX and OPEX estimates for the above; An environmental and social assessment; A financial and economic analysis and risk assessment; and Information on procurement and implementation. 2 EuropeAid/136347/IH/SER/MAK 4 B. Current project concept per region As a consequence of the current solid waste situation in the abovementioned four regions and the need for investment, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning (“MoEPP”) have approached the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the “Bank” or the “EBRD”) with a request to provide assistance in developing the most appropriate financing structure for the respective waste management systems. At this stage, it is envisioned that: - For the SE region, the project is expected to take form of one regional sanitary landfill (“RSL”), two transfer stations, an upgrade of the waste collection infrastructure (collection vehicles, bins, containers) and possibly the closure of dumpsites