The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing EUR 5.5 million loan to Armenia for implementation of modern solid waste management solutions in Kotayk and Gegharkunik regions.

According to the message spread by EBRD Yerevan office, the loan amount consists of a previously signed (in armenian) EUR 3.5 million and a newly added EUR 2 million EBRD sovereign loan.

The additional EUR 2 million will enable the geographic coverage of the Kotayk Solid Waste Management Project to be extended to the adjacent Gegharkunik region.

The project will finance the construction of Armenia’s first European Union (EU) compliant solid waste landfill, providing an integrated solid waste management solution in the Kotayk and Gegharkunik regions.

The new landfill will be located in the city of Hrazdan in Kotayk Province and managed by twelve participating municipalities – Hrazdan, Abovyan, Charentsavan, Tsaghkadzor, Byureghavan, Yeghvard, Nor Hachn, Sevan, Martuni, Gavar, Vardenis and Chambarak.

The provision of this service anticipates generate major environmental and social benefits for some 500,000 people in the area.

“This investment will bring substantial benefits to the region’s residents and the environment, and will help to develop better public awareness of the benefits of recycling. We are grateful for the strong support from our donors for whom modernization and environmental protection are a priority, as they are for us,” said Mark Davis, Head of the EBRD’s Yerevan Resident Office.