On 18 December, the solemn opening ceremony of renovated Child and Youth Center #3 was held in Erebuni administrative district of Yerevan.

The event was attended by Mayor of Yerevan Hayk Marutyan, RA Acting Minister of Nature Protection Erik Grigoryan, UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia Shombi Sharp, UNDP Resident Representative in Armenia Dmitry Mariyasin, and First Deputy Mayor of Yerevan Hrachya Sargsyan.

The project with a total cost of nearly AMD 400 mln has been implemented jointly by the UNDP-Green Climate Fund (GCF) “De-risking and Scaling-up Investment in Energy Efficient Building Retrofits” project and Yerevan Municipality, in partnership with the Ministry of Nature Proytection.

As a result of capital renovation activities, the Center - constructed in the 1970’s, occupying a territory of more than 6500 square meters - has been granted a second life. The foundations, the roofing and the building frame were reinforced. The building envelopes, the floor and the roof were insulated, and energy efficient windows and doors were installed significantly minimizing the energy losses. The heating system was completely renovated – energy efficient condensing boilers, fan coil units, radiators with manual adjusting valves were installed. Incandescent lamps were replaced by LED luminaries. All these created an opportunity to ensure the necessary level of thermal and illumination comfort with much less energy use. Over 50 percent energy saving will reduce CO2 emissions by 250 tons/year. Saved money can be used to serve other needs of the Center.

All the rooms and gyms were renovated, and the building’s surrounding landscaping was improved, providing opportunities for conducting outdoor classes.

About 800 children attending the 34 hobby groups of the Center can now exercise in renovated, safe, inclusive, warm and light rooms and gyms.

Yerevan Municipality, a key partner of the project, gives high importance to energy efficiency improvement measures in various fields of activity. Due to this approach, Yerevan Sustainable Energy Develop­ment Action Plan was developed in 2016, prioritizing the pre-school educational institutions, in order to increase comfort levels for children. As a result, Statement of Intent was signed between Yerevan Municipality and UNDP on 28 April 2017. A new cooperation modality was implicated: Yerevan Municipality delegated the implementation of construction works to UNDP. The project, in turn, has co-financed the measures related to energy efficiency improvements.

This cooperation has led to the launch of the Yerevan Energy Efficiency Project, based on the Financial Agreement signed between Yerevan Municipality and the European Investment Bank (EIB) on 1 December 2017. EUR 7 mln loan was leveraged from EIB and EUR 5 mln grant - from Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership (E5P).

In the framework of the Statement of Intent signed between Yerevan Municipality and UNDP, #160 Kindergarten in Kanaker-Zeytun administrative district and #3 Child and Youth Center in Erebuni administrative district were selected to undergo major renovation. The latter was selected due to the fact that Erebuni is one of the largest administrative districts in Yerevan (with a population of around 126,300), and the only Child and Youth Center historically had large number of beneficiaries, attending sports and arts classes. Besides, the building was constructed in 1970’s and never undergone major renovation since then. Additionally, as a result of high heating costs and low comfort levels, the Center was unable to function within its full scale.

“De-risking and Scaling-up Investment in Energy Efficient Building Retrofits” project (2017-2023), funded by the GCF, is being implemented by UNDP in Armenia, in coordination with the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia.