Speech by Ilham Aliyev at the opening of the Baku plant for the disposal of solid domestic wastes

- Dear friends.

Dear ladies and gentlemen.

I want to sincerely congratulate you on the opening of the plant for the disposal of solid domestic wastes in Balakhani. This is a great event. This short film has shown some highlights of the construction. Three years ago, in November 2009, we laid the foundation of the plant here. I am very happy that in a short time such a huge industrial enterprise has been put in place. I want to express my deep appreciation to all the agencies and companies that have taken part in the construction of this plant.

The cost of the plant, i.e. the volume of investment is 365 million euros. Some of it was provided by the Islamic Development Bank in the form of a loan. The rest was financed from the state budget of Azerbaijan.

I would like to express special thanks to the hugely experienced French company Cnim, which participated in the construction of the plant. I also want to note that our partnership with the company will be continued in the future because management of the plant has been entrusted to Cnim for 20 years. I am very pleased that Cnim, a major French company, has established such a business relationship with Azerbaijan. In September this year, in a meeting with leading French companies at MEDEF, I saw again that both sides have a great interest in cooperating, expanding business relations, and great opportunities for that are opening up. French companies have successfully worked in Azerbaijan for years. They help us in power engineering and in the non-oil sector, in the fields of construction, transportation, development of the space industry. This enterprise, which required major investment, has also been established by a French company.

There was a great need for this plant because, as this short film said, this area was a zone of environmental disaster.

Baku residents know very well that the wastes which had accumulated here for decades were causing great damage to the environmental situation in the city. The concentration of domestic waste most of which was burned further exacerbated the situation. This territory was constantly shrouded in smoke. The smoke enveloped Baku and had a negative impact on people’s health and the environmental situation in our city. A few years ago, we began to carry out comprehensive measures to improve the environmental situation in Baku and the Absheron Peninsula as a whole.

Particularly important among them has been the construction of this plant. The Azerbaijani government continues its policy in this area, because public health is above everything else.

Comprehensive public health measures are taken. Tree planting campaigns have gained momentum in Azerbaijan in recent years, especially in Baku. It is no longer a campaign but a public policy. Over 10 million trees have been planted.

We are implementing specific projects to supply Baku and all other cities with drinking water. The vast majority of these projects will be completed by the end of next year. Thus, every city and district center will be provided with high quality drinking water meeting relevant standards of the World Health Organization, which will also be a historic achievement.

The commissioning of the Oguz-Gabala-Baku water line two years ago significantly improved water supply in Baku. Additional measures are taken in this area. As a result of these measures, the situation will further improve. So the construction of the plant is part of a major political and at the same time social aspect.

This plant applies the most stringent environmental standards and criteria that exist in Europe. We can say that in environmental terms this plant is in one of the leading places in the world. At the same time, the company has put in place the most advanced process. High-tech equipment has been delivered and installed and the process is fully automated.

Due to the commissioning and, prior to that, construction of the plant, concrete steps were taken to create other facilities around it. Before coming here, I reviewed the activities of a nearby waste sorting plant. The sorting plant, which is also the result of this enterprise built by Cnim, also has an important function. At the same time, the initiative was made during construction to establish an industrial park in Balakhani and the foundation of it will be laid today. So we can see how much influence this great initiative has had, hundreds of jobs have been created here.

Most people working here are local citizens and their number will gradually grow. They get paid well. So the construction of this plant helps us implement comprehensive measures. I would also note that due to the construction of the plant, a social project was carried out in Balakhani. A project to provide drinking water to Balakhani has been launched and will be completed in the near future. The project is worth about 10 million manats. This project shows that we approach all issues comprehensively and successfully achieve our goals.

I am sure that the plant will operate efficiently for years to come. The capacity of the plant is 500,000 tons. According to some sources, more waste is accumulated in Baku, so the plant may be expanded in the future. The possibilities are there. The main issue now is to coordinate collection, sorting, disposal and recycling of domestic waste. At present, we have resolved the final stage – sorting, disposal and recycling. But the initial stage of the process does not meet our requirements yet. So I ask the Ministry of Economic Development and the Mayor’s Office of Baku to prepare proposals in the near future. The management, transportation, collection and delivery of domestic waste for disposal should be organized as a single process, so that we could resolve this issue in Baku once and for all. Then this experience should be replicated in other cities.

The plant also has a power station with a capacity of 37 megawatts. This is also a great event. Several megawatts will be consumed by the plant, while the remaining 33 megawatts will be supplied into the city network, which is very important for our renewable energy balance. As you know, we have rich deposits of oil and gas. We have enough gas to last us and foreign customers for another 100 years.

Despite this, we are developing renewable energy sources. The construction of a hydroelectric power plant with a capacity of 25 megawatts has just been completed in Fizuli. The construction of the plant, of course, is great for the establishment of renewable energy.

At the same time, I want to repeat that all international environmental standards are observed here. Thus, by commissioning this plant Azerbaijan is making a modest contribution to the global environmental agenda. Today we will also lay the foundation of the Balakhani Industrial Park.

Comprehensive measures are taken in this direction. To ensure successful operation of industrial parks, a package of additional measures is being prepared. The legal framework of the issue is being developed, and the government will offer a package of additional benefits in the near future to ensure more efficient operation of industrial parks. Thus, large industrial complexes will be set up in several places - Sumgayit, Balakhani, Garadagh district, etc.

The specialization of industrial parks has also been determined – a high-tech park, a park of chemical technologies and the Balakhani industrial park. Each park covers a certain sphere, and the enterprises set up in the parks will strengthen the industrial potential of our country. As I have said many times, our main goal is to increase industrial production, reduce dependence on oil and develop the non-oil sector. We have made major strides in this area. This is evidenced by the results of this year. The exact figures are not yet available, but preliminary calculations show that our non-oil economy grew by about 10 per cent, while our non-oil industry may grow by nearly 7-8 per cent. This was made possible by the industrialization measures taken earlier.

By establishing this plant and other large and small enterprises, we will achieve long-term and sustainable economic development. Of course, energy has helped us create the initial capital. But we have to conduct our economic policies as if there were no oil and gas. Only economic development, reforms, improvement of the process, application of modern technology, good investment environment and successful collaboration with leading foreign companies will help us achieve our goals.

I want to indicate that I have attended many opening ceremonies in recent years. There have been hundreds, maybe even more of them, and it would take a long time just to count them. But the inauguration of this plant stands out because the money invested in this plant is among the largest investments made by the state in the non-oil sector. As a result of the operation of this plant, the environmental situation in Azerbaijan will significantly improve. This will be a very important contribution to the protection of public health. This plant is also of great importance from the point of view of international cooperation. I want to say again that we have embarked on long-term cooperation with a leading company in this field – Cnim. At the same time, the plant clearly demonstrates the social policy of the Azerbaijani state. In order to continue this social policy, we must have the economic strength. As I said, the Islamic Development Bank has provided its financial support, the World Bank has given its recommendations, but the main financial burden fell on the state budget of Azerbaijan. So our economic development should enable us to provide such great support for social issues in the coming years too.

Dear friends, I would like to sincerely congratulate you and all the inhabitants of Baku on this wonderful event. I want to congratulate everyone who has participated in the construction of the plant, and to express my gratitude. I am confident that our cooperation with foreign partners will be continued successfully.

Thank you.