The upgraded Northern Wastewater Treatment Plant (NWTP) has been opened in the city of Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The project is part of an investment program intended at enhancing the environmental status of the Baltic Sea. It is co-financed by a group of international donors and financial institutions.
The facility's capacity has been expanded to process 1,200,000 cubic metres of wastewater per day.
Increasing the capacity of the NWTP was the last step of the Neva Closure of Discharges of Untreated Wastewater Programme that allowed the city to clean over 98% of its effluent and achieving compliance with the HELCOM recommendation in nutrient removal.
The project also includes three new aeration tanks and twelve secondary sedimentation tanks, along with change in process to the existing aeration tanks and chemical precipitation unit, as well as the necessary field instrumentation and automation system.
The upgradation programme of NWTP was implemented by Saint Petersburg city’s water service company Vodokanal.
The investment programme included enhancing of the Central and Northern wastewater treatment plants, construction of a sludge incineration plant, completion of the Northern Tunnel Collector, along with several other projects.
The project was declared as a priority project within the framework of the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership (NDEP), the Neva Programme received a €24m grant from the NDEP.
It also received grants totaling, €60m in loans from the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank. Nordic Investment Bank acted as the lead bank and coordinator of the financing structure of the project.
Apart from these, the programme received grants from the EBRD Shareholder Special Fund, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Finland’s Ministry of the Environment and the John Nurminen Foundation, totaling €20.5m.
NIB first vice president Thomas Wrangdahl said: “The city should be proud of these achievements. This proves the efficiency of international cooperation that has involved Russia, Finland, Sweden, the EU, the Northern Dimension Environmental Partnership, as well as international financial institutions.
“We are impressed with the commitment of the city and its water service company Vodokanal, pledging to improve the company’s environmental performance that has so much importance for the entire Baltic Sea region.”
Image: Vodokanal's mobile lab measures the level of nutrient removal at the Northern Wastewater Treatment Plant on the launch day. Photo: courtesy of Vodokanal of St Petersburg.