"It is not a secret that a large part of air pollution falls on cars in different world cities today. At present, about 549,511 vehicles have been registered in Baku. Most of them, that is, 80 percent do not meet the standards of Euro -3 and Euro-4", Mayor of Baku Hajibala Abutalibov said at a meeting on environmental issues, chaired by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, AzerTaj state news agency said.
According to him, these cars emit toxic substances above the established norm. Preventing the import of vehicles that do not meet European standards, the gradual decommissioning of those manufactured 10-15 years ago, those that do not meet environmental standards, exploitation term of which is exhausted, increase of new fuel production meeting European standards, will improve the environment in Baku, Abutalibov said.
Oil-contaminated land, the emergence of artificial lakes and pools of waste oil as a result of activities of the oil industry, operating in Baku for over 100 years, the preference of quantity, not quality for the indicated period of time, non-utilization of reservoir waters are among the major factors negatively affecting the ecological sitation of Baku, he said.
Head of Baku's Exertive Power also stressed that the process of cleaning oil-contaminated soil, the transfer of industrial enterprises outside the city and creating new industries that meet world standards are implemented to eliminate these factors. It already gives positive results.
"Emissions of toxic substances significantly reduced in Baku as a result of productive work restrainting gas and dust in the existing plants," the head of Baku's executive power said.
According to him, one of the issues to be resolved is the problem of sewerage system. The term of exploitation is exhausted. It also contributes to the formation of artificial mud lakes, pollution of the Caspian Sea.
Since April 2007 construction and adjustment operations have been launched within a project prepared in accordance with the presidential decree. This project is aimed at cleaning polluted water and sewer lines. The third new technological line with a capacity of 160,000 cubic meters has been put into operation to solve this problem, impacting negatively on the environment.
Thus, the efficiency of an existing station has been raised from 480,000 cubic meters to 640,000 cubic meters per day, Abutalibov said.
Certain work has been done to implement the President's decree "Certain Measures for the Protection of the Caspian Sea against Pollution", signed on June 20, 2007 and improve the situation in this area.
Local water-purifying units meeting international standards, that creates conditions for the purification of about 4,000 cubic meters of polluted water per day were installed, Hajibala Abutalibov said.