site.btaSofia Mayor Fandakova Pays One-Day Working Visit to Vienna

Sofia Mayor Fandakova Pays One-Day Working Visit to Vienna

Vienna, March 16 (BTA exclusive by Tsvetana Delibaltova) - Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova Wednesday arrived on a one-day working visit to Vienna as head of a delegation from Sofia Municipality.

On the Bulgarian delegation are, among others, Sofia Deputy Mayor for green system, ecology and land use Maria Boyadzhiyska and residents of the areas near the Sofia Thermo-Electric Power Plant (TPP). The focus of its visit to Vienna is the acquaintance with Austria's experience in environmental protection and, in particular, environmentally friendly waste disposal.

In the morning, Fandakova held talks with Vienna Mayor Michael Haupl. She acquainted her host with the project for processing green and household waste in Sofia, and with the capital's waste treatment plant unveiled last year.

Haupl expressed approval of Sofia's development as a city committed to environmental protection, and said he is ready to give Sofia a technical expert opinion and consultations for the implementation of a project on energy from alternative fuels.

The Bulgarian delegation visited the waste incineration plant in Pfaffenau, where 32 tonnes of waste are incinerated per hour and the energy goes into steam-driven turbines for electricity production. The thermal energy is part of the city's heating system. In this manner, 76 per cent of the energy contained in waste gets utilized.

The Bulgarian delegation also visited the Shpitelau TPP which processes household waste into thermal energy and green electricity. The energy produced from the 250,000 tonnes of waste incinerated per year provides heating for 318,000 households in Vienna.