Fifty rural settlements in Moldova will be included in the next World Bank (WB) water supply and sanitation project, WB’s consultant on environment issues Arcadie Capcelea told reporters. According to him, this is an innovative aspect in the WB’s activity in this field, as so far the WB’s Pilot water supply and sanitation project has focused on revamping water supply systems in urban areas. The new WB project has a new component part aiming to consolidate the institutional capacities of the newly-established “Apele Moldovei” Agency, and „Apa-Canal” Agencies across the country. Arcadie Capcelea says it is necessary to develop these capacities so that future investments in this sector are efficiently used. “We forecast large investments in Moldova’s water supply and sewerage sector, as water supply is not just a national priority, but also international, and the number of donors supporting this sector is increasing,” the WB consultant stressed. Arcadie Capcelea said that now that the project is about to complete, by June next year the WB is expected to approve a new concessional credit for Moldova worth 14 million dollars. By the end of June 2008, the World Bank forecasts to provide about 30 million dollars to Moldova, including for budgetary support, for alleviating the effects of the drought, etc. WB Country Manager for Moldova Melanie Marlett has recently stated that a large part of the 14 million dollars for the implementation of the water supply and sanitation project could be used to dig wells or to deepen the existing ones, which will also be a support to overcome the effects of the drought.