Ulaanbaatar, May 24, 2024 /MONTSAME/. On May 16, 2024, President of Mongolia Khurelsukh Ukhnaa visited the Advanced Water Purification Plant being developed under the Second Compact Agreement of the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation.

This project, which began in 2021, is currently 56 percent complete and will be fully finished next year. President emphasized that this project, which strengthens the strategic partnership between Mongolia and the United States and symbolizes our bilateral relations, is crucial for ensuring water security for residents, businesses, and industries in the capital city, and for the future sustainable development of the country.

President Khurelsukh extended his best wishes for continued success to the government, domestic and international private sectors, all organizations, and people working to implement this project on schedule.

Once operational, the plant will purify water from 30 new well fields constructed under the Compact in the Biokombinat and Shuvuun areas to meet drinking water needs and eventually integrate into Ulaanbaatar's central water supply system. The purified water from the plant will provide up to an additional 50 million cubic meters annually to Ulaanbaatar’s clean water supply, increasing current levels by over 50 percent.

U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia Richard Buangan noted that this project, supported from the beginning by President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, the Government of Mongolia, relevant ministries, the MAPA group of the Republic of Turkiye, contractors and sub-contractors, the program implementation unit Millennium Challenge Account - Mongolia, the Capital City Taxation Department, and a number of other agencies and organizations, is one of the largest public works projects in the Indo-Pacific region. It has become a symbol of the bilateral relations between the two countries. It underscores the U.S government's commitment to improving the lives of Mongolians, protecting the environment, and supporting sustainable economic growth.

In 2018, the then Prime Minister Khurelsukh Ukhnaa and the U.S. Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, who was also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, signed a joint declaration on the Second Compact Agreement between the Millennium Challenge Corporation of the US and Government of Mongolia.

Under this compact, the Millennium Challenge Corporation of the United States is providing USD 350 million in grant aid, and the Government of Mongolia is cocompact program investing up to USD 111.7 million.

Under the Compact program, an Advanced Water Purification Plant and Wastewater Recycling Plant will be constructed, 180 water supply kiosks will be fully automated to provide for smooth and uninterruptable water supply to ger district residents, and a laboratory equipped with advanced technology to monitor industrial pollution will be established.

For instance, the Wastewater Recycling Plant will recycle treated water from the new Central Wastewater Treatment Plant of Ulaanbaatar city and supply to the Ulaanbaatar Thermal Power Plants. This will save an amount of underground water equivalent to four Buir Lakes per year and, in the future, will provide opportunities to use recycled water in many other sectors of economy.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE ACCOUNT OF MONGOLIA, E.ENKHGEREL:

We are confident that we will fully implement this project on time. A total of 3,500 people is working on this project, the majority of whom are Mongolians. Since 2021, we have purchased goods and products worth more than MNT 20 billion from domestic small and medium-sized business owners.

The compact program aims at establishing a sustainable and long-term water supply for residential and commercial use and support private sector-led economic growth through three activities: the Downstream Wells Activity, the Wastewater Recycling Activity, and the Water Sector Sustainability Activity. With a target completion date of March 31, 2026, the Compact aims to increase Ulaanbaatar’s water supply by an estimated 80 percent through enhanced infrastructure capacity and lasting regulatory reforms.