Construction of waste disposal sites to start in Yerevan and Hrazdan  in the near future

ArmInfo.Construction of garbage disposal sites will start in Yerevan and Hrazdan in the near future. This was announced on July 29 at a meeting chaired by RA  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

As reported by the press service of the RA government, at the  meeting, during which the waste collection strategy and its envisaged  program of events were discussed, it was noted that the construction  of landfills is carried out in cooperation with international  partners. A two-year program for events has been developed. The  planned measures are aimed at improving the quality of garbage  collection services in the country, ensuring environmental standards,  and introducing waste disposal mechanisms.

It was also noted that work is underway to replenish technical means,  in particular, 59 units of equipment and 600 garbage cans have  already been purchased. The strategy provides for the development of  specific waste collection schemes from communities, the establishment  of collection points, and the application of disposal procedures for  construction waste.

The Prime Minister, pointing out the importance of organizing waste  collection at a high level, noted that the strategy should fully  solve this problem through the developed measures. Nikol Pashinyan  especially stressed the importance of organizing waste collection in  recreation areas, on the banks of rivers.

Earlier ArmInfo informed 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  EUR 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.

Work 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.