MINSK, 26 February (BelTA) – Belarus' Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection is in talks with the international company Veolia over the construction of a hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility in Gomel Oblast, Chairman of the Board of the Belarusian public association Environmental Initiative Yuri Solovyov told a press conference on 25 February, BelTA has learned.
“Veolia (its Israeli unit in particular) showed an interest in the project to build a hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility in Belarus. Specialists of the Ministry of Nature Protection and Environmental Protection are engaged in the talks. This is an international holding company, one of the biggest players in Europe in the field of waste recycling. The negotiations are also underway with companies from Austria and Slovenia,” he said. Investments in the project are estimated at €50-60 million.
Yuri Solovyov stressed that there is a stumbling block, which is the economic estimates. “They are not in favor of Belarus. There is not enough domestic waste for the facility to be profitable. The minimum must be 35,000-40,000 tonnes of hazardous waste a year. It is estimated that in Belarus there are about 15,000-20,000 tonnes of such waste left over from Soviet times. Every year the country produces several thousand tonnes of hazardous wastes. Still this is not enough, but the business shows interest in our region,” he explained.
According to Yuri Solovyov, Belarus is interested in the arrival of big investors. “They will bring not only new technologies but will also help properly organize the business process. By the way, the cooperation with them can be built on the principles of the public-private partnership,” he noted. Yuri Solovyov stressed that Gomel Oblast can become a venue for the implementation of a regional project to treat hazardous waste from all the post-Soviet countries. “The current legal framework impedes the implementation of the project. The transportation of pesticides inside the Customs Union is prohibited. If this barrier is removed, our Gomel facility can become more attractive for investors,” he said.
Veolia Environnement S.A., branded as Veolia, is a French transnational company with activities in four main service and utility areas: water management (for municipal and industrial clients), utility services (including waste management), energy services (electricity supply, microclimate maintenance, installation and maintenance of energy and heating equipment), and transport services (airport, railway transportation and public transport management).
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