ArmInfo. EBRD has announced a tender to select consultant for planning the new landfill of solid waste in Yerevan. According to the EBRD statement Yerevan's municipality has applied to the bank with request to provide technical assistance for improving municipal system of managing solid waste and finance construction of a new solid waste landfill on the allocated territory near the current landfill in Nubarashen, which operates since 1960ies and is the largest one in the country. No adequate measures of nature protection are applied there and the control of the landfill is weak.
Consultant should be a legal entity. It will be given 80 thousand EUR in order to prepare program of evaluating risks of construction of the new landfill considering allocation of lands, resettlement, and negotiations with the population of the community, as well as to propose a number of social and juridical measures for the successful implementation of the program. Deadline for submitting applications for tender is September 13, 2016. To recall, a number of European agencies have made a decision to allocate 24 mln EUR to Yerevan municipality for construction of a new landfill of solid waste. EBRD will provide 8mln EUR loan. The program is co-financed by Euro 8 million credit line from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and a capital grant of Euro 8 million from the European Union Neighborhood Investment Facility (NIF).
According to the agreement signed on December 11, 2015 the loan is provided for 15 years with 3 years of grace period and interest rate of Euribor six month + variable margin (1% at the moment). The term of project implementation is 5 years.
The new landfill will meet international standards and operate as a commercially sustainable unit with modern solid-waste management systems, covering the collection and disposal of municipal solid waste. The facility, located on the outskirts of Yerevan, will provide major environmental and social benefits for the 1.1 million residents of the Armenian capital. Funds will be allocated for construction of the two zones from 5 of the new landfill. Its total area will be 29ha near the current Nubarashen landfill of 30ha. The first two zones, 8.5 and 4.2 ha, will be fully isolated and fenced-in. Catch basin, laboratory, approaching roads and other infrastructure will be constructed. Power generations will be installed on the both landfills. Yerevan's municipality plans to announce tender for investments in waste recycling plant.
Since the start of its operations in Armenia in 1992, the EBRD has invested nearly 1 bln EUR in various projects in the country's financial, corporate, infrastructure and energy sectors, with 86 per cent of the investments being in the private sector.