AMIIGA mid-term update

What's the current state of AMIIGA? Mr. Grzegorz Gzyl (GIG), project manager of AMIIGA, and Mr. Petr Kohout (City of Novy Bydzov), WP2 “Groundwater Remediation” leader, give their mid-term evaluations of the AMIIGA project. 

What's the current state of AMIIGA?

Grzegorz Gzyl: AMIIGA is performing well. The tools developed by the project are being finished one by one. The update of tools uptaken from previous project FOKS is ready. The newly developed AMIIGA tools are in the last stage of development. The implementation and testing of the tools on pilot sites in Poland, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia is in the middle of its way. The first results are being obtained. At the same time, development of management strategy and guidance have started. 
Transnational cooperation within the Partnership is very fruitful and partners at their pilot sites have already gained a lot of help from the experts involved by the partners from other countries.
Financial progress of the project is also good – there are no major postponements in the spendings and the project budget is not threatened by budget cuts.

What's going on in the pilot sites?

Petr Kohout: The partners have made significant progress during the first three reporting periods on each Pilot Site. The partners carried out technical activities – public tenders, improvement of the monitoring networks, drilling of new monitoring wells, sampling campaigns, construction of bioreactive barriers, testing of remedial technology, etc. At the same time, they processed the results in databases, evaluated data and submitted deliverables. The implementation of the activities is satisfactory and in accordance with the project timetable.

How is the Experts Panel progressing?

Petr Kohout: Project partners have established for the implementation of workpackage 2 activities the common professional platform of experts. Members of Expert Panel participate on and support in preparation, realization and monitoring of activities at the Pilot Sites, they help keeping the common AMIIGA approach through the whole project, or they can assist according their professional abilities to other partners supporting what they need help with. The EP consists of 26 members.

Did you experience any difficulties so far? 

Petr Kohout: Several delays in completing the activities listed in the AF were noted during AMIIGA implementation. Especially at the beginning of the project implementation we had to deal with administrative complications with the preparation and implementation of tenders for suppliers. Public procurement is, in many cases, a relatively complicated process, which can not be accelerated in any case, and the requirements of national and European legislation must be respected. Complications in public procurement have caused a slight delay in completing some activities. Others partners have had to deal with technical issues such as changes in the natural conditions of aquifer (a decreasing of groundwater level about 8 m) and complex approval procedures for the placement of new boreholes. As the evaluation shows, these shifts are not critical and have no important impact on progress of project. 

What's next for AMIIGA? 

Grzegorz Gzyl: The newly developed AMIIGA tools are going to be completed and their harmonizing with previously updated FOKS tools will be done in near future. The application of tools at pilot sites in order to test them will continue. The management strategy and guidance will be further performed and completed based on the results obtained from application of the tools at pilot action sites.