ArmInfo.A program of measures for the mothballing of landfills is being developed In Armenia.
On May 7, Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures of the Republic of Armenia Suren Papikyan stated this from the rostrum of the parliament.
According to him, the program will involve unemployed citizens of the country whose work will be paid by the state. Thus, this category of citizens will get a job, and garbage dumps will be mothballed. The Ministry is currently working on the development of this program. Particular attention will be paid to cleaning up from garbage tourist centers, places of cultural and historical significance, and territories adjacent to Lake Sevan.
In addition, as Suren Papikyan noted, work continues on the construction of a landfill in the area of Kotayk and Gegharkunik, which will enable residents of these regions to store garbage in a specific place for 20 years. The only problem is recycling. The Armenian side is not satisfied with the options that some investors propose. But negotiations in this direction continue.
Earlier ArmInfo reported that the Eastern European Partnership for Energy Efficiency and the Environment (E5P), managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), will grant Armenia a 2 million EUR for the construction of a new solid waste landfill for the Gegharkunik and Kotayk regions of Armenia. The program for the construction of a garbage landfill is the first EBRD project in the field of solid waste management in Armenia and is aimed at facilitating the plans of the Armenian government to modernize the sphere and bring it in line with European standards. Works under the program, was launched in December 2014. The EBRD provided 3.5 million euros of loan funds, which in turn was supplemented by a grant of 3.5 million euros from the investment tool of the EU partnership. 8 communities will be included in the system of solid waste management, 7 of them in Kotayk region of Armenia and 1 in Gegharkunik. Already in 2016, the program was expanded by a sovereign loan from the EBRD of 2 million euros, which allowed the inclusion of all 7 Kotayk communities in the program, in particular, Hrazdan, Abovyan, Nor Akhen, Byurekhavan, Charentsavan, Yeghvard, Tsaghkadzor, as well as 5 communities Gegharkunik - Sevan, Vardenis, Gavar, Martuni and Chambarak, as well as cover all the communities of Gegharkunik.
The 2 million grant of the E5P fund, which will complement the EBRD loan of 2 million euros, will be used to co-finance marshalling yards, purchase lorries for the collection and transportation of garbage, garbage cans and other equipment and supplies. As a result, the total budget of the program is 11 million euros. The funds provided will assist in the construction of a garbage landfill of solid domestic waste based on the use of modern management mechanisms that envisage the collection of waste in the territories of municipalities and their removal. The program will solve many social and environmental problems of the local population.
To remind, within the framework of the program it is planned to build the first landfill in Armenia in accordance with European standards, which will be located in the city of Hrazdan in Kotayk region, which will also serve the cities of Abovyan, Byureghavan, Yeghvard, Tsakhkadzor, Nor Hachn, Charentsavan, and also Sevan city of Gegharkunik region. The construction of a new landfill will make it possible to establish a modern solid waste management system in the region and to collect garbage in accordance with international standards. The total cost of the project for the construction of a new landfill will be around 8 million euros.
The E5P is a multi-donor fund that promotes energy efficiency programs aimed at improving energy efficiency and conservation in the Eastern Partnership countries. The main objective of the initiative is to use grants in addition to loans that are allocated to community energy efficiency and conservation programs, such as restoration of water supply and drainage systems, management of solid domestic waste, street lighting.
The agreement on Armenia's participation in the Eastern European Partnership for Energy Efficiency and the Environment (E5P) was signed between the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources of Armenia on March 17, 2015. The entry fee for Armenia's participation in the Fund was 1 million euros. E5P donors are the EU countries, Iceland, Norway, Ukraine, USA, as well as Armenia, Georgia and Moldova. Contributions are then used, in particular, to implement schemes to raise funds at national levels and from international financial institutions, in particular the EBRD, the EIB, the World Bank Group.
