ArmInfo. The Alaverdi copper smelter sooner or later had to close or undergo modernization. Tigran Avinyan, acting Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia, stated this on November 2 in an interview with journalists.
According to him, a discussion was held with the Vallex Group company and representatives of VTB Bank Armenia about the possibility to continue the plant's operation, and the problem here is not with the government, but with the judicial process that is currently taking place between the two subjects.
Note that the leadership of the Alaverdi copper smelter is facing serious financial problems. October 19, the company officially suspended its activities. According to some information, the plant is already owned by VTB-Armenia Bank. This information triggered a wave of protests among workers. Employees of the plant submitted proposals to the Government, one of which is an increase in the limit of emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere. Currently, the plant has the right to emit about 6,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, while the amount of emissions is 33,000 tons. According to the results of inspections of the inspection body of nature protection and the subsoil of the Ministry of Ecology of Armenia, the plant was fined 380 million drams. After that, the town-forming enterprise stopped.
