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BOXTEXT: The water situation

Tim Askew, chairman, British Water Overseas Forum and member of British Trade International UK Water Sector Working Group, says the level of authority in place is making life very difficult. "There is nobody in Kosovo to centralise enquiries or tenders. The EU has not made funds available as yet, and the process for this will not be in place for at least another month or two. No tenders will be awarded for at least a month, and they will all be co-ordinated through Greece."

Askew revealed that although the task force has made preliminary studies into the damage of Kosovo, it is impossible to know the full extent. He adds that the British Army is working very hard to gather this information but there is no authority to confer with which, he says, is hampering the industry response. There has been very little correspondence from firms looking to secure work in the water sector in Kosovo because this sector is no longer an emergency. Kosovo has six hours running water per day, brought from Pristina, while the British Army made temporary repairs to existing pumping stations early on.

"While on our visit to Kosovo we met the Macedonian minister for construction and urban planning and he was very keen to partner construction firms in Macedonia with UK contractors," says Askew. "The majority of the buildings in Kosovo, whether still remaining or levelled, were actually built by the Macedonians."