Uzbekistan to get ADB loan to upgrade domestic waste recycling
- Written by Dilshod Ashurmatov
TASHKENT, February 1 (TCA) — The Uzbek government has attracted a loan package for US $400 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the modernization of the domestic waste recycling system in the country, according to the Makhsustrans, a domestic waste sorting operator in Uzbekistan.
“The project is included in the new strategy of cooperation between Uzbekistan and the ADB for 2012-2016. The bank’s approval may be obtained in the first half of the next year,” Makhsustrans reported.
In December 2011, the ADB provided a $700,000 grant to the government to prepare the feasibility study of the project. It is supposed that the ADB loan will be allocated in several tranches.
The project, estimated at approximately $500 million, provides for the modernization of the solid waste recycling systems in Tashkent and eight other regions of the country. The modernization includes the construction of new protected areas for garbage collection, the renovation of the garbage trucks and equipment, and the introduction of a modern system of waste recycling in the aforementioned regions. The project will be completed within seven years.
The project is financed through the ADB loan and the state budget funds.
According to official statistics, Uzbekistan annually produces 100 million tons of industrial waste (of which 14% is classified as toxic waste) and 35 million tons of domestic waste. More than 2 billion tons of industrial, construction, and domestic waste is now stored in dumps occupying a total area of 12,000 hectares.
The Uzbek parliament is currently considering amendments to the Law “On Waste”, which will provide additional benefits for legal entities and individuals engaged in waste recycling.
