ArmInfo. Problems with garbage collection in Yerevan should be solved fundamentally, and not with the use of one-time solutions. On October 20, Hayk Sargsyan, Deputy Mayor of the Armenian capital, stated this in an interview with reporters.
According to him, already in 2020, the garbage collection fleet will be replenished with 17 new units, which will bring the garbage collection system to a whole new level. At the same time, at this stage the mayor's office does not plan to involve a new operator on the market, since the sanitary-cleaning cycle is not fully completed.
Hayk Sargsyan also noted that the Yerevan Municipality is not afraid of possible arbitration proceedings with the former operator in the person of Sanitek company. "If the municipality had even a bit of doubt, we would not have agreed to terminate the contract with the previous operator," the Deputy Mayor noted. He also said that next year several underpasses will be overhauled. The underground passage at the beginning of Mashtots Avenue, at the intersection with Grigor Lusavorich and Paronyan Streets, is especially poorly maintained. "Moisture is accumulating there, which is dripping from the ceiling.
Therefore, a major overhaul is needed. Without it, everything will become wet again. That is why no one agrees to open stores here," Sargsyan added. Now the mayor's office is conducting temporary lighting in the transitions, so that at least it is not dark. A competition will be announced next year for overhauls. It should be noted that earlier Mayor of the Armenian capital Hayk Marutyan noted that having studied all the facts of Sanitek's activity, the Municipality is not afraid that the company will appeal to the Arbitration Court. Marutyan praised the work of the second garbage collection operator operating under the capital's municipality. He noted that the positive dynamics will become even more apparent after a few months, when the process of equipping equipment and related personnel is completed. So, the number of new garbage containers is planned to be increased from 4 thousand to 9 thousand, and the corresponding vehicles - from 34 units to 54.
Problems with the removal of household waste in Yerevan began in the summer of 2018, and in the spring of 2019, Sanitek was fined twice for failure to fulfill obligations, for a total of 40 million drams. Sanitek International has filed a lawsuit against Yerevan Mayor's Office. The amount of the claim is almost 25 million drams. In February, criminal tax evasion proceedings were instituted against Sanitek International and Sanitek Armenia. In addition, the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia issued a statement that "Sanitek" caused damage to the capital budget in the amount of 5.3 billion drams. The company itself denies the allegations. On October 2 of this year, "Sanitek" company received the last remittance from the Municipality of Yerevan: 160 million drams were transferred to the company for services provided in the second half of August this year. It was noted that the Yerevan Municipality no longer has any financial obligations to Sanitek, given that since August 29 of this year, the company has completely stopped providing garbage collection and sanitary cleaning services in Yerevan.