Air to become 27 times cleaner after reconstruction of Almaty heat electric plant

Reconstruction and expansion of Almaty heat electric generation plant planned by Samruk-Energo will improve the ecological situation in the city, Tengrinews.kz reports citing managing director on industrial-technical affairs of Samruk-Enegro Yesbergen Abitayev as saying at Kazakhstan Energy Forum. According to Abitayev, the plant is currently working on coal that pollutes the atmosphere. Besides, the station is located in the center of the city; this deteriorates the situation even further. The design institute made a statement that after switching the station to work on a steam-and-gas heating unit, its emissions will decrease 27 times. “When such numbers are pulled out, it becomes clear that this is an important project that we have to work on,” he added. Abitayev thinks that reconstruction has been required for a long time, as a significant part of equipment is down down. “Almaty heat electric generation plant is 75 years old. This is a human lifespan. The design will be finished in 2011 and we will start preparing the cost estimates starting from next year,” he said. By Sabina Serikova