Progress of the project to rehabilitate former uranium mining sites was inspected - G.E.O.S. branch WISUTEC manages rehabilitation works

From 24 to 27 October 2022, the European Commission visited the future remediation sites of Kharkesar and Yangiabad in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The former uranium mining sites from the Soviet era are to be permanently remediated over the next few years under the leadership of experts from the G.E.O.S. branch WISUTEC.

On 24th and 25th October 2022, the future rehabilitation objects in Kharkesar and Yangiabad were inspected. The remediation works with a total volume of approximately 6.4 million Euros will start in 2023. So far, G.E.O.S. has carried out all engineering assessments on site and in cooperation with Uzbek specialists. The remediation planning was carried out on the basis of these investigations.

On 26.10.22 a conference of the OSCE took place in Tashkent. On the topic of " Participation of the communities in uranium remediation projects in Central Asia", participants from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan discussed together with representatives of the European Commission, the EBRD and G.E.O.S..

During the meeting between the Deputy Director of the State Committee on Ecology and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Usebekistan Jusipbek Kazbekov, Elektra Tsigaridas, Saltanat Asan from EBRD and Falk Wagner from G.E.O.S. on 27.10.2022, the progress of the EBRD-PMU "Yangiabad & Kharkesar" project was discussed.

The work on the project is on schedule. Special attention is being paid to involving the communities in the rehabilitation process. Therefore, events and hearings are planned for the local people, administrations and local organisations. The engineers from Saxony are familiar with the Central Asian region in particular. With their expertise, they provide practical support to the Uzbek partners on the spot. The first specialists have already been at the rehabilitation areas since November 2021.