Investments in the water bottling company on Baikal, which will be created within the framework of the International Water Resources Center – the joint project EN + GROUP and VEB, will be about 87.5 million euros, follows from the presentation of the Director of the Development Department of the EN + Group of Sergey Ponomarenko .
In January 2021, VEB and EN + GROUP signed a Memorandum of Cooperation, including the creation of an international center of water resources at the site of the Baikal Cellulosic and Paper Plant (BCBC). The project involves the creation of a multifunctional cluster of industrial, research, tourist and educational significance.
High-tech production that meets modern environmental standards will be located on the recuultivated territory of the former BCBC, closed in 2013.
“A new enterprise is focused on the production of high-quality drinking water for the domestic market, and Baikal water is really the wealth of Russia, with which most of its inhabitants are not familiar. In addition, the construction of the plant will create in the city of 200-250 jobs after closing BCBC The situation with work in Baikalsk remains rather complicated, “said Sergey Ponomarenko. The representative of EN + also noted that the first stage of the enterprise can be launched in 3-4 years, and the volume of production will be 1 billion liters of water per year.
Earlier to implement the scientific part of the project of the International Water Resources Center, IGU – University and EN + signed an agreement on cooperation, within which the center can be used as a base for scientific research of the Baikal ecosystem.
The project of the International Water Resources Center is a continuation of the EN + Group’s integrated program on the protection of Baikal and the protected areas of Russia from unfavorable environmental impacts – the project is implemented since 2011 on the initiative of the founder of the energy-metallurgical company Oleg Deripaska. “Factor No. 1 is ecology,” he told in one of the interviews. It was on Baikal that the volunteer campaign for cleaning and disposal of garbage “360” began, which now actually applies to the entire territory of the Irkutsk region and goes beyond its limits. Also, together with MSU EN + GROUP launched a project for carrying out large scientific expeditions to Baikal in order to determine the level of pollution with plastic.