Azerbaijan, Baku / corr Trend I.Khalilova / By the end of the year the Japanese company Mitsubishi plans to start work on sanitary coverage of a garbage heap in the village of Balakhani near Baku, Asgar Alakbarov, the head of Investments Department of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economic Development said.
Currently, the company is clarifying the cost for sanitary coverage of the garbage heap.
"Initial proposals [by Mitsubishi] were considered at the Ministry. However, but the Ministry did not accept them due to the vast expense. Private research carried out revealed that the cost could be approximately $1mln less," Alekperov said.
According to Mitsubishi's calculations, up to $2.5mln is required for sanitary coverage of the garbage heap for the purchase of pipes and soil.
In the second phase of the project Mitsubishi plans to construct an electricity station which will produce electricity fueled by methane gas obtained from the garbage. The electricity will be given to Azerbaijan free of charge, Alekperov said.
The project on methane gas production in the waste site in Balakhani was developed by Mitsubishi.
Azerbaijan is in the process of appealing to the UN for permission to sell its quotas for utilized gas.
The Japanese corporation Mitsubishi had submitted the initial document to the Ministry which has been devised on the basis of gas samples taken from the waste site in Balakhani.
The project will be implemented without burden to the public budget and envisages high ecological efficiency. Thus, the ecological environment of Baku will be improved considerably, because methane gas will be used for electricity production.
Waste collected at sites has a negative impact on the environment and their production of methane gas, which is dangerous to human health. Taking into consideration the danger of marsh-gas to the nearby settlements, utilizing this waste is important. As a result of the implementation of the project, they intend to receive a certificate on the decrease of gas emissions.