Ader: Hungary to set up EUR 200m water development fund

Hungary is to launch a nearly 200 million euro fund for water management development, Hungarian President Janos Ader announced in his speech at the World Water Week in Stockholm on Wednesday. The fund is to help the implementation of technological innovations, Ader said. It will raise efficiency in infrastructure development by cutting the time for execution and boosting the return on investments, he said. Commenting on a report of UN Water, Ader backed the body's call to triple the annual funding for water investment of about 200 million dollars a year. The move would be necessary to stop the looming water crisis, he said. Ader noted that a new approach would also be needed "to incorporate the value of water into policy and financial decisions". "Prevention is much more important than damage control," he said.