Ecology AKIpress – Unofficial sources are discussing that Bishkek has been among the most polluted cities in the world in terms of air quality for several years in a row. This was stated by Mayor Aibek Dzhunushaliev at a board meeting.
According to him, the main “contribution” to this is made by anthropogenic pollutants, such as coal used to heat houses on the outskirts of the city, transport, thermal power plants, industrial facilities and quarries.
“Thanks to Bishkek’s close friendly relations with the cities of the People’s Republic of China, an expert group on environmental safety issues has been created jointly with Qingdao University.
In 2024, the group conducted research in Bishkek for 3 months. The issues of using coal boilers in homes and organizations, including kindergartens, were studied. As a result of the study, it was found that after replacing old boilers with modern coal boilers, the indicators meet the standards. In this context, the city administration will recommend the installation of modern coal boilers in order to improve the environment. In 2025, it is planned to widely distribute such boilers throughout the city, ”Dzhunushaliev said.
He noted that a business related to the extraction of catalysts from cars for subsequent sale is developing in Bishkek.
“This is due to the fact that the catalysts contain precious metals such as platinum, palladium and rhodium, which are in high demand on the world market. Despite the restrictions imposed by the Cabinet of Ministers, the market is still actively developing.
An expert group from Qingdao tested new gas cleaning systems that were installed on cars. After installing the new systems, the results met Euro standards. In the future, it is planned to offer owners of cars without catalytic converters the installation of these systems at affordable prices. The average cost of installing the proposed catalytic converters will be about 5 thousand soms. Previously, catalytic converters cost from 700 to 1000 US dollars,” the mayor of the capital said.
He reported that an agreement had been signed to implement the project to build a natural gas power plant on the territory of TPP-2. As part of the project, the investor will install power lines to the Ala-Archa substation and lay a heating main at least 10 kilometers long to provide hot water and heat to the central system. The investor will also supply heat energy free of charge.
“As part of a project supported by the World Bank through the International Development Association, a project to improve air quality is being implemented in Kyrgyzstan. Within the framework of this project, it is planned to green the territory of Bishkek and expand and restore irrigation systems in order to improve the urban microclimate.
In addition, a nursery will be built in cooperation with a company in Qingdao.
As part of strengthening the greening policy and improving the appearance of the city, work will be actively carried out to plant various types of trees and create green areas. Scientifically based methods will be used in these works. We must pay special attention to the environment and clean air. We set the goal of working on the basis of scientific research. If we refer to preliminary (approximate) information, then we risk losing the green fund of Bishkek,” Dzhunushaliev expressed his opinion.
https://eco.akipress.org/news:2222727
