Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia

Otar Shamugia: "The Department of Environmental Supervision will continue control on the fulfillment of requirements for air quality protection and assurance of fuel quality in large enterprises"

The Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture Mr. Otar Shamugia spoke about the planned and implemented measures to improve air quality while making his speech in the Parliament under the frame of the "Minister’s Hour".

According to the Minister, the Department of Environmental Supervision has conducted inspections in all large enterprises over the last few years. The problems were identified in up to 85 large enterprises across the country. The existing problems were mostly related to the lack of filters and proper exhaust systems.
 
In 2021, significant changes were made in the legislation to regulate industrial enterprises and deal with the aforementioned problems.

" When new standards were set for the enterprises, specifically, for companies operating in the city of Rustavi,  they started solving complex problems. The monitoring conducted by the Ministry and various state agencies revealed, that most of the enterprises in Rustavi started installing modern filters and exhaust systems, as well as self-monitoring systems.

The installation of self-monitoring systems is planned for most of the enterprises in April-May. The Environmental Supervision Department will continue to monitor the compliance with the air safety requirements in large enterprises throughout 2022,
 
"The consistent policy pursued by the state aims to eliminate the problems from the industrial sector accumulated over the decades, to reduce air pollution," Mr. Otar Shamugia said.

According to the Minister, the checking of the quality of fuel will be continued intensively. The Environmental Supervision Department has inspected up to 1,000 samples from more than 400 gas /petrol stations and responded appropriately to violations in recent years. The Supervision Department will continue to control fuel quality this year and in the coming years as well.