EBRD and E5P Fund will finance construction of a garbage landfill for solid household waste in Armenia

ArmInfo. 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 for the construction of a new solid waste landfill for the Gegharkunik and Kotayk regions of Armenia. The corresponding agreement was signed on June 30 between the E5P and the Ministry of Finance of Armenia.

As the press service of the organization told ArmInfo, 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. According to the message of the Ministry of Finance, 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 dustbin 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 Achn, 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.

"We are grateful to the E5P donors, in particular the EU and Sweden, for their successful cooperation with the Armenian government and local communities," said Angela Sachs, acting EBRD head in Armenia.  According to her, the grant provided by the E5P Fund is very important for the implementation of the program on reforming the field of solid waste management in Armenia. In turn, as the head of Foda Eva Minaika stated, the implementation of the program will create favorable conditions for the local population and will raise awareness of citizens in ensuring the cleanliness of the environment. "For today, the EU has allocated 22.4 million euros of grant funds for solid waste management reforms, which demonstrates the importance of environmental problems for the EU," said the head of the EU Delegation, Ambassador Petr Svitalsky, adding that the EU is providing assistance in Kotayk, Yerevan and Vanadzor for five different programs, co-financing with partners such as EBRD, EIB and KfW.

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.

To remind, the EBRD has acted as a donor and construction of a new garbage site near Yerevan. Last summer, the Bank announced a tender for a consultant to prepare a plan for its creation. Its construction will cost 24 million euros, 8 million of which will be provided by the EBRD, the remaining 16 million will be equally divided by the European Investment Bank (EIB) as a concessional loan and the European Neighborhood Investment Program, which agreed to grant a grant of 8 million euros.

The EBRD is an institutional investor in Armenia. Since the launch of the EBRD in Armenia, in particular since 1992, over 1.1 billion euros have been invested to implement 158 programs in the financial, corporate, infrastructure, and energy sectors. Moreover, 88% of these investments were directed to the development of private entrepreneurship.