Sanosyan: some problems arose during implementation of first landfill  construction project

ArmInfo.Some problems arose during the implementation of the first sanitary landfill construction  project in the Kotayk region of Armenia. RA Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Gnel Sanosyan stated on June 5 in the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia during the discussions on the implementation of the country's 2023 state budget.

  According to him, it was initially planned that the landfill would  start operating in August of this year.  Much has already been done  in this direction, the landfill itself has been built, some garbage  collection vehicles and 7 thousand urns have been and continue to be  imported, but the issue of supplying special equipment has stalled.  The problem is that 4-5 tenders have already been held, which have  not yet identified a winner. Now, negotiations are underway with the  partner, Eurobank, which is financing the program, to change the  terms of the competition. "If it were not for this circumstance, we  would have already witnessed the start of the landfill in August,"  Sanoyan noted.

Earlier, he told journalists that the project was nearing completion.  In particular, according to him, the construction of the landfill has  already been completed, and the corresponding stations have been  installed in Martuni and Akunk. Despite this, as the minister pointed  out, the program has already deviated from both the original  implementation schedule and the estimate (upward). Sanosyan did not  specify the new deadlines and the amount of additional funding.

He said that the possibility of implementing similar programs on the  principle of "one landfill for two regions" is being studied in other  regions of Armenia. "There were certain difficulties with Yerevan  (with the construction of the Yerevan landfill), at some point the  project was suspended. Now the partners are promoting the program,"  the minister explained. In April 2021, it was reported that the  European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the  European Union (EU), together with the Ministry of Territorial  Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia, officially launched the  construction of a new solid waste landfill in the city of Hrazdan in  the Kotayk region. It was noted that the new solid waste landfill  will comply with EU standards and will greatly contribute to  improving the environment in Hrazdan and eleven other settlements.  The new landfill will be equipped with modern solid waste management  processes and will include the collection and disposal of solid waste  in communities. The landfill will be located next to the  Yerevan-Sevan highway and will serve twelve settlements, seven of  which are in the Kotayk region (Hrazdan, Abovyan, Nor Hachn,  Byureghavan, Charentsavan, Yeghvard, Tsaghkadzor), and five in the  Gegharkunik region (Sevan, Vardenis, Gavar, Martuni, Chambarak). The  construction of the landfill was supposed to begin in 2020 year, and  will be completed in 2022, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, the  deadlines have changed. The construction of the first sanitary waste  landfill in Armenia was launched in mid-April 2021.  For the  implementation of the program, Armenia was provided with a loan of  5.5 million euros from the EBRD and a grant of 3.5 million euros from  the EU Neighborhood Investment Program. A grant of 2 million euros  was also allocated by the Eastern Partnership Energy Efficiency and  Environment Fund (E5P).