Kommersant (Voronezh) EDB intends to provide about RUB 1 billion to Belgorod's Flagman for a household waste management project

In accordance with Flagman's business plan, which was approved in late August by the Stary Oskol Municipal Council (the disposal site will collect waste from this town as well), the company plans to complete construction of a 23.8 ha site, with a capacity of at least 160,000 tonnes a year, by mid-2016. Flagman estimates its investment in the project at RUB 216.6 million. After the site is commissioned, Flagman plans to begin construction of an automated MRF, with a capacity of 150,000 tonnes of waste a year, worth RUB 872 million. According to the Bank, the MRF will process a part of waste to produce «a wide range of recyclable materials». The MRF is envisioned to process, sort and bury waste from Gubkin (about 65,200 tonnes a year) and Stary Oskol (152,500 tonnes). Flagman's business plan states that the disposal sites in these towns are already overfilled.

The Bank announced that the project would be implemented in cooperation with the government of Belgorod Region. Earlier, an intention to launch a large-scale waste recovery project was announced by Rostec's specialist subsidiary National Ecological Operator (NEO). However, NEO explained that their initiative in Belgorod Region was allegedly «prevented by companies supported by local authorities». The overall amount of household waste produced in the Central Federal District approximates 19 million tonnes, out of which less than 10% is processed. This was stated yesterday at a meeting on the development of a waste handling system arranged by Alexander Beglov, Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the district. «Recycled materials are now widely used in the manufacture of construction materials and are in high demand. Even despite lower growth rates in the Russian construction sector, products made of recycled materials have high export potential», Margarita Gorsheneva, Director for Business Development at QB Finance, believes. «Waste recycling business will hardly become irrelevant in the foreseeable future, in spite of any shocks in the country's economy».