Skopje, 21 December 2024 (MIA) - The repair and rehabilitation works on Skopje’s main water pipeline have been completed, and the situation is expected to normalize in the next three to four hours, said Skopje Mayor Danela Arsovska on Saturday.

“I would like to thank the technical and expert staff at the ‘Water Supply and Sewerage’ PE for the courage and the expertise they demonstrated on this decades-long issue, which they resolved in record time,” Arsovska said.

The Mayor said more than 160 employees of Skopje’s “Water Supply and Sewerage” Public Enterprise and 150 administrative workers were engaged in the operation.

“Starting from 2 a.m., when the disruption of water supply on the main pipeline began, up until a few hours ago the issue was successfully and expertly resolved through the efforts of the public enterprise. They have already begun to gradually restore the water supply in order to ensure that the pressure which is currently being created doesn’t cause any damage to the water supply network,” Arsovska said. 

The Mayor said workers began filling the main pipeline around two hours ago, noting that an additional three to four hours would be needed for the situation to normalize.

“They’ve started to fill the main pipeline around an hour and a half ago, and an additional three to four hours will be needed for the situation to stabilize, in other words for the pipeline to be filled and for water pressure to go back to normal,” Arsovska said.

Arsovska stressed that the operation will lead to reduced water losses from the city’s water supply network, something that has been an issue for two decades.

“I regret the panic that was created in the public, as usual this is for political reasons. I hope the citizens didn’t succumb to what we could hear. What is especially important is that not only did this operation modernize and improve the system, but it also reduced the losses of water that have been an issue for two decades,” Arsovska said. 

Photo: MIA