ZCZC
BCN-18
ADB-MONGOLIA-LOAN
ADB approves 160 mln USD loan to improve air quality, health in Mongolia’s
capital
ULAN BATOR, Dec. 6, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB)
has approved a loan of 160 million U.S. dollars to support Mongolian
government’s efforts to improve the air quality and health in Mongolia’s
capital Ulan Bator, the ADB said in a statement released Thursday.
“Air pollution in Ulan Bator has improved significantly, but there is
still work to be done to protect the health of people in the city, especially
children and those in ger areas that are highly exposed,” said Pavit
Ramachandran, ADB country director for Mongolia.
He said clean air is central to long-term and environmentally sustainable
growth in Mongolia.
According to the Manila-based bank, it is the second loan to support
improved policies, regulatory and institutional capacity, and actions to
tackle air pollution in Ulan Bator.
Air pollution is a pressing challenge for Ulan Bator, where over 800,000
residents, half of its population, live in the city’s ger districts, with no
running water, central heating or sewage systems.
Ger residents use stoves and burn raw coal and other flammable materials
to cook and keep warm during the region’s six-month-long winter, a practice
believed to be responsible for an estimated 80 percent of the air pollution
in the capital city.
The Mongolian government has been striving to improve air quality in Ulan
Bator by taking various measures, including the banning of burning low-grade
coal for domestic use.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1430