6 billion investment in várpalota meets a basic need

The complex series of investments is scheduled to be completed in May next year, resulting in more efficient and reliable wastewater treatment in Várpalota and a reduction in environmental impact. The mayor of the city and the contractor STRABAG presented the development and its long-term effects to the press.

They were looking for a long-term solution

In his welcome speech, the Mayor of Várpalota said:

"Sewage disposal and treatment is not a spectacular development, but it is a basic, everyday need that is crucial to the future of our city."

M Márta Campanari-Talabér added that the upgraded wastewater collection network and treatment plant will provide a safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly solution in the long term.

The mayor presented the main details of the investment and said that the development, which will cost around HUF 6 billion and will be implemented with a subsidy rate of nearly 95 percent, will install a state-of-the-art technology that will ensure the treatment of 3,500 cubic metres of wastewater per day.
Márta Campanari-Talabér stressed that this investment is not only about our present, but also about the future of our children and grandchildren. It is about the environment they will be able to live in and how Várpalota can meet the challenges of the 21st century.

New technology installed in the 30-year-old facility

The preparatory design and permitting work for the project started in 2023, with the actual construction on site starting in spring 2024. Csaba Ludvig , project manager of Strabag Water Construction Kft., the consortium leading the construction, said that the várpalota wastewater treatment plant was built in the mid-1990s. In the three decades since then, the technology and the machinery have become obsolete, and the buildings are also in need of renovation.
The complex upgrade will create a facility capable of meeting the increasingly stringent treatment limits in the longer term. The new technology will reduce the environmental impact.

The investment will:

• upgrading of urban wastewater treatment plant No 1 and associated pressure pipes, and
• upgrading the existing wastewater treatment plant and
• new, environmentally friendly wastewater treatment technology has been installed.

Increased capacity

With the introduction of the new technology, a multi-stage pre-treatment process can start treating the wastewater coming to the plant. The mechanical treatment equipment has been expanded with a new stone catcher, a new grating machine house with a mechanical cleaning step grate and the sand and grease trap has been upgraded.

With the fully modernised wastewater interceptor, the wastewater is treated biologically after the mechanical process, with phase separation by sedimentation. A newly installed secondary filtering plant further reduces the suspended solids content of the treated effluent. After the final filtration, the treated effluent is discharged to the reception tank through the disinfection basin. As a result of the development, a wastewater treatment technology with a hydraulic capacity of 3500 m³/d (25 000 hp biological) has been
developed. The sludge generated during the treatment process will be placed in thickening tanks and dewatered by the new sludge dewatering centrifuges after thickening.

The investment was made to ensure the continued operation of the treatment plant during construction

The renovation and expansion works will be carried out while the plant will be in continuous operation,
said a specialist of the contractor.
New buildings and structures have been constructed, and existing structures have been architecturally modernised, together with the upgrading of the overall technology. This included two biological purification works with complete technological mechanical and electrical installations. The two basins have a capacity of 3,800 cubic metres of wastewater each.

The project also included the renovation of the existing buildings, the replacement of the roof structure and windows.
The works are progressing as planned, with a six-month trial run having started on 16 September,
which should allow the project to be completed in spring 2026, following the technical handover.