World Bank approves $164m for environmental clean-up
The World Bank has approved three projects on purification of the
oil-polluted areas on the Absheron Peninsula, which is home to many
in Azerbaijan.
The projects under the Absheron Rehabilitation Program (ARP) aim to improve the environmental situation in the peninsula. Total WB financing of these three operations will be $164 million, according to the decision passed at a recent Executive Directors meeting in Washington.
The activities will help to rehabilitate the land polluted by the legacy of onshore oil production in Absheron, clean and safely dispose radioactive waste from defunct iodine enterprises, and improve management of solid waste in the Baku metropolitan area.
"These three projects are a part of a historical effort Azerbaijan is undertaking to improve the ecological situation of the Absheron Pennisula, and particularly to bring ecological conditions in Baku to European standards," says Gregory Jedrzejczak, Country Manager for Azerbaijan.
Most of Azerbaijan's industrial potential is concentrated in the Absheron Peninsula, which also is one of the oldest oil producing regions in the world. Decades of industrial operations without proper care for the environment have left about 30,000 hectares of land in the peninsula polluted by oil products and various industrial waste. Moreover, the weak solid waste management system is unable to collect and dispose of any more than 60 percent of solid waste produced in the area. These factors pose serious health risks, and limit expansion of two major cities situated in the peninsula - Baku and Sumgayit, as they are ringed by the polluted zones.
The Absheron Environmental Program consists of three projects: the Contaminated Sites Rehabilitation Project (WB loan of $74.50 million); the Large Scale Oil Polluted Land Clean-up Project (WB Loan of $60 million); and the Integrated Solid Waste Management Project (WB Loan of $29.5 million).
Azerbaijan joined the World Bank in 1992. Since then, commitments to the country exceed $2.3 billion for 45 operations.
The projects under the Absheron Rehabilitation Program (ARP) aim to improve the environmental situation in the peninsula. Total WB financing of these three operations will be $164 million, according to the decision passed at a recent Executive Directors meeting in Washington.
The activities will help to rehabilitate the land polluted by the legacy of onshore oil production in Absheron, clean and safely dispose radioactive waste from defunct iodine enterprises, and improve management of solid waste in the Baku metropolitan area.
"These three projects are a part of a historical effort Azerbaijan is undertaking to improve the ecological situation of the Absheron Pennisula, and particularly to bring ecological conditions in Baku to European standards," says Gregory Jedrzejczak, Country Manager for Azerbaijan.
Most of Azerbaijan's industrial potential is concentrated in the Absheron Peninsula, which also is one of the oldest oil producing regions in the world. Decades of industrial operations without proper care for the environment have left about 30,000 hectares of land in the peninsula polluted by oil products and various industrial waste. Moreover, the weak solid waste management system is unable to collect and dispose of any more than 60 percent of solid waste produced in the area. These factors pose serious health risks, and limit expansion of two major cities situated in the peninsula - Baku and Sumgayit, as they are ringed by the polluted zones.
The Absheron Environmental Program consists of three projects: the Contaminated Sites Rehabilitation Project (WB loan of $74.50 million); the Large Scale Oil Polluted Land Clean-up Project (WB Loan of $60 million); and the Integrated Solid Waste Management Project (WB Loan of $29.5 million).
Azerbaijan joined the World Bank in 1992. Since then, commitments to the country exceed $2.3 billion for 45 operations.
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