The modernization of Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works (Luhansk region) will help not only improve the environmental situation in the city, but also allow the company to sell electricity, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said.
He said at a visiting meeting of the Council of Regions in Luhansk on Thursday, that the authorities had recently paid considerable attention to the settlement of environmental issues and the inclusion of this component in investment projects.
"This is a problem that we need to resolve in the first place... We have recently paid significant attention to these issues," he said.
Speaking about the upgrading of Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works, which began about ten years ago, Yanukovych said that the environmental component in the investment projects in this case was about 20%.
“This has already had an effect on the ecology of Alchevsk,” he said.
Yanukovych also drew attention to the fact that the launch of a power unit at a gas generating power plant, which was held on Thursday, would bring its capacity to151.5 megawatts.
He said that the second unit would be commissioned by the end of 2013, most likely in September or October.
“The total capacity will reach 303 megawatts… The plant will actually sell electricity to the energy markets,” he said.
“The net profit will be about 10 million [dollars] a month,” he said, adding that the investment project itself is worth about $700 million, and its self-sufficiency will be achieved in about seven years.
“All associated gases that are currently produced during the full metallurgical cycle are used in electricity production,” he said, noting that such advanced technology currently exists only in Japan.
“It’s something we’ll have to deal with,” he said.
