In the hall, equipped with the latest technology, the senators were able to get acquainted with the architectural models of the intended objects, the technological and chemical-physical production processes. The senior Nornickel vice president – the head of the Norilsk division Nikolay Utkin answered the guests’ questions.
The Sulfur Project, which has no analogues in the world in scale, is part of the Federal Clean Air Project and is its largest component. As Nikolay Utkin noted, the project will purify the air by 40 percent by 2023 – according to the first stage results, and by 90 percent – by 2025.
Now the share of sulfur in the total enterprises emissions is about 90 percent, which means that the scale of transformation will become truly colossal. At the same time, the project costs are about 250 billion rubles. The pandemic did not slow down the pace of work on the project.
“The project has passed all examinations and approvals. It took two years to design. We are not behind schedule, everything is going according to the plan. Moreover, we have planned the higher emissions reduction than the state established”, said the Norilsk division head.
He also noted that a temporary residential complex for a thousand people with all utilities is being erected especially for the Sulfur Project builders at the entrance to Kayerkan, in the area of a former furniture factory.
The Sulfur Project significance for Norilsk and the country as a whole was highlighted by the Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management Alexey Mayorov:
“Today we got acquainted with the company’s projects that are related to environmental protection. You know that several enterprises in the city emit sulfur dioxide, which must be disposed. And the company plans to spend more than 200 billion rubles to convert sulfur into gypsum using modern technologies. The ecological situation in the city will significantly improve. I think this project fits very organically into the national Ecology project, which is now being implemented in our country”.
Text: Mikhail Tuaev, Photo: Marina Peshkova