Eco-disaster in Khmelnitsky: the landfill is being reclaimed - details of the $10 million tender

In Khmelnitsky, for a long time, local residents have been appalled by the large-scale garbage dump, which is located at the exit to the village of Oleshin.

The landfill has repeatedly become a catalyst for environmental problems that have affected both neighboring bodies of water and the condition of the soil. This problem can be solved by reclamation of the landfill, a tender for which has already been announced by the city council. How does this procedure work, why is it so important and who is applying for the contract?

The Khmelnitsky landfill has catastrophic volumes, but it can soon be saved thanks to reclamation. This procedure is designed not only to reduce the negative environmental consequences for the regional center, but also to improve the quality of land and air. However, it's worth starting with why the local landfill is so dangerous.

What is known about the Khmelnitsky landfill?

A large-scale landfill in the regional center, which exhausted its resource back in 1976, has repeatedly caused a stir in the local media due to its danger. The landfill is located outside the city, at the exit to the village of Oleshin. Moreover, according to the chairman of the Khmelnitsky regional organization of the Ukrainian Society for Nature Conservation, Yuriy Reznikov, the landfill should have been closed a long time ago.

Later, due to numerous complaints and inspections, a decision was made to reclaim the problematic landfill. To this end, the city council announced a tender to select a company that will reclaim the existing solid waste landfill.

At the same time, the amount of work has already been determined - 10 million dollars, and the funds themselves are allocated by the EBRD in accordance with municipal guarantees of the Khmelnytsky City Council. The competition participants are consortia from Greece and Azerbaijan, as well as from Lebanon and Turkey. The final stage of the tender to select the company is currently being completed.

Why is the reclamation project so important?

Landfill reclamation is the elimination of emergency slopes and the formation of gentle slopes of the landfill, covering them with loam. Carrying out this procedure can reduce the negative environmental consequences for the regional center and improve the quality of land and air in Khmelnitsky.

How else does your own reclamation take place?

First, they dig a pit into which all the garbage is dumped and covered with a special film that does not let anything through, not even landfill gas. However, to prevent it from exploding and collapsing, the gas is pumped out from there with a special system.

In case of rain, an additional network of pipes is also produced to pump out wastewater. Later it is filtered and sent into the natural environment. Sometimes after reclamation it is even impossible to understand that this place was once a landfill.

A company with relations with Russia can carry out reclamation

And although the reclamation itself is of great importance, there are some nuances in who will carry out the work. We have previously reported that one of the participants in the $10 million tender, HayatGroup LLC, is a consortium that includes, on the one hand, a large Greek company with a bunch of completed projects, and on the other, an Azerbaijani one. StopCor found out that it is the second party of the consortium that may have connections with the Russian Federation.

In particular, this company had a dubious contracting history in Belarus, its owner is a defendant in criminal cases, and the company itself still enters into agreements with Russia.

As previously reported, the municipal enterprise “SHEU of the Solomensky district of the city of Kyiv” used the land plot of “Kievavtodor” in the Solomensky district as a landfill. The head of the management company “Kievavtodor” and the ex-head of the municipal enterprise “Road Operations Department for the Repair and Maintenance of Roads and Structures” was reported on suspicion of official negligence and contamination of a land plot in Kyiv.