Alina Oprea • 15 March, 2023 at 9:54 AM
The Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests signed, as a partnership leader, a contract for the supply of airborne systems (drones) equipped with sensors and equipment specific to inspection and control activities within the project "Extending and modernizing the monitoring and control infrastructure of air quality in order to increase the accuracy of the information and the ability to respond to pollution episodes". The delivery of the 46 systems will be made starting from June, in 4 batches, and will be completed by the end of this year.
"Considering the importance of the air we all breathe, one of MMAP's priorities and concerns is to ensure that the control structures under its authority have modern and efficient tools at hand to intervene quickly in the event that there are activities that cause harm to the environment. We are running this project financed by POIM and we have signed the contract for the purchase of the 46 airborne systems equipped with sensors and equipment specific to the inspection and control activity. They will provide information in a timely manner from various events with an impact on the environment and will become an essential tool in the daily activity of environmental commissioners", said Minister Barna Tánczos.
The total value of the financing contract is RON57.03 million (€11.4 million), and the non-refundable eligible value from the European Regional Development Fund is RON48.2 million (€9.64 million).
The project aims at the acquisition of integrated mobile air quality monitoring systems (21 self-laboratories fully equipped according to the standards in force, which will be used by the Environmental Protection Agencies in the country); the acquisition of unmanned aerial systems (UAV) – drones, equipped with sensors and equipment specific to the inspection and control activity, which will be operated by the County Environmental Guard Commissariats (46 drones); the development of an online platform for the management of airborne systems, thus a unique platform will be created, dedicated to GNM, which will include both data from RNMCA, independent air quality monitoring networks, and satellite data.
The project is financed by the European Regional Development Fund through the Large Infrastructure Operational Program (POIM - Axis 4) in order to carry out actions aimed at improving air quality, especially in the urban environment, respectively promoting measures to reduce air pollution.
The Ministry of the Environment runs this project in partnership with the National Agency for Environmental Protection (ANPM), the National Environmental Guard (GNM), and the Elie Carafoli National Institute for Aerospace Research and Development (INCAS Bucharest).
Special attention was given to counties with an increased risk of air pollution through the uncontrolled burning of waste.
The implementation of this project aims to improve the national air quality assessment and monitoring system, which involves the expansion and modernization of the air quality monitoring infrastructure in the administration of institutions under the central public authority for environmental protection with the aim of increasing the accuracy of specific information and the ability to respond to pollution episodes in order to improve environmental conditions in the urban area and promote measures to reduce air pollution, according to the Ministry of the Environment.