October 1, 2020
Press releases
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia – On 23 August 2020, Caritas Czech Republic (CCR) in Mongolia have been awarded “The Best Project and Program Implementer” for its “Improving resource efficiency and cleaner production in the Mongolian construction sector through materials recovery” project from the most prestigious construction exhibition Barilga Expo 2020.
Construction exhibition Barilga Expo 2020 was successfully organized for the 13th year under the motto "Let's Bring Green Growth Together". This year, around 120 construction companies and more than 30 000 visitors have participated in the exhibition. CCR in Mongolia displayed the results of the project, mainly the new prototype of construction material, which is partially made from recycled construction and demolition waste.
Apart from this prototype, the project team successfully trained more than 2500 representatives from the construction sector on more efficient management of construction and demolition waste. Thousands of people have been reached through awareness raising campaign.
Moreover, new curriculum for construction and demolition waste management has been developed and is now being taught at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology (MUST. Several research studies have been published and are available online for wider audience. In an attempt to increase the local production of affordable construction products made from construction and demolition waste and reduce the carbon footprint of the construction sector, the MUST Research team has also developed the first prototype of construction material using recycled waste and got the approval of standards for this product.
Furthermore, the project also achieved a change in the Mongolian legal framework. "Procedure on cleaning, collecting, segregating, transporting, recycling, recovering, disposing and landfilling of construction and demolition waste" is an important step towards the sustainable development of the Mongolian construction sector. It has been approved by the Ministry of Construction and Urban Development and the ministry itself became an advocate of the project.
The project results have not only impacted the legal environment and state policy but also efficiently supported the private sector to switch to greener practices. Overall investment made to the Mongolian construction sector under the project is around 1.3 million Euros.
The project is funded by the European Union, European Union Switch Asia programme and Czech Development Agency and is implemented with three project partners: Mongolian National Recycling Agency, Mongolian University of Science and Technology, and Delft University of Technology from the Netherland.
