Armenia’s waste management will be brought up to modern European standards with help from a recent loan of more than $4.2 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

“The investment will bring substantial benefits to the residents and the environment in the region, and will help to develop better public awareness of the benefits of recycling,” Mark Davis, head of the EBRD’s Yerevan office, said. “We are grateful for the strong support from our donors for whom, as it is for us, modernization and environmental protection have always been a priority.”

Armenia will build a new landfill in Hrazdan, in the Kotayk Province, with an additional $4.2 million capital grant from the European Union Neighborhood Facility.

This new landfill will be EU compliant and serve 215,000 people. Eight different municipalities will manage the facility: Hrazdan, Abovian, Charentsavan, Tsakhkadzor, Byureghavan, Yeghvard, Nor Hachn and Sevan.

It is an important development in Armenia and is expected to provide many environmental benefits as well as raising awareness of recycling.

Other governments are contributing as well. Austria will help implement the project and provide a basic corporate structure to run it. EBRD’s Shareholder Special Fund and the Early Transition Countries Fund also awarded grants.

The ERBD started operating in Armenia in 1992 and has invested more than $793 million to date. The majority of the projects – 87 percent – have been in the private sector, and have benefited Armenia’s financial, infrastructure, energy and corporate divisions.