First Northern Dimension project to be inaugurated in St Petersburg
Press release 285/2005
20 September, 2005
The St Petersburg South West Wastewater Treatment Plant will be inaugurated on 22 September. The wastewater treatment plant is the first of the EU’s Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership projects, with significant impact. At the same time, it is an excellent example of the long-term Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership projects, as a result of which the effluent load to the Baltic Sea will diminish, and the ecological condition of the neighbouring areas of Finland will improve.
In addition to the St Petersburg South West Wastewater Treatment Plant, to be inaugurated, there are about a dozen other Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership projects, the largest among which include the St Petersburg Northern Wastewater Treatment Plant Incinerator, treatment of remaining direct wastewater discharge in St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad district heating system, and projects related to nuclear waste management in the Kola Peninsula.
The Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership, established in the year 2001, is a central part of implementation of the EU’s Northern Dimension Policy. The funding coming from the European Commission, EU member states, partner and observer countries of the Northern Dimension – Russia, Norway and Canada – and International Financial Institutions is coordinated by a fund managed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, EBRD. Of the 225 euros collected in the Environmental Partnership Support Fund so far, two thirds are reserved for nuclear safety projects and the rest for environmental investments. When the loans acquired by the Russian party are added to the total sum, the total value of Environmental Partnership projects under planning or implementation amounts to approximately two billion euros.
The full cost of the St Petersburg South West Wastewater Treatment Plant is almost 200 million euros. In addition to local funding, International Financial Institutions, like the Nordic Investment Bank, NIB, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, EBRD, and European Investment Bank, EIB, have granted loans for the project. Moreover, the project has received funding from the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership Support Fund (NDEP), European Commission, Finland and Sweden. The donated funds account for slightly over 50 million euros of the total costs.
Finland has donated 10 million euros for the project. The donation has been used for equipment acquisitions from Finland, and, consequently, the Finnish companies involved in the project have received orders amounting to over 30 million euros.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs has shown initiative in the Northern Dimension Policy of the EU. The Northern Dimension Policy, encompassing the areas of Northwest Russia, the Baltic Sea and the arctic region, aims at strengthening the welfare of this area and supporting its practical projects in cooperation between the EU and the countries of the region. Securing the future of the Northern Dimension Policy and strengthening the commitment of all the parties involved in its implementation are among the areas of focus for the Finnish Presidency of the EU in 2006.
Additional information: Director Maimo Henriksson, Unit for Northern Dimension, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 6186, and Counsellor Marja-Leena Vuorenpää, tel. +358 9 1605 5627