We Will Spare No Effort: Owner of Iron Casting Plant Under Construction in Yeraskh

The owner of the iron casting plant under construction in Yeraskh, the American companies 'VIRTUAL FONDING' and 'SCI GLOBAL INVESTMENTS', has issued a statement.

'At the beginning of June this year, Azerbaijan announced that a metallurgical plant was being constructed in the Armenian community of Yeraskh, which would create environmental problems for their country. Our company, established in Armenia as 'GTB Steel', issued a statement on June 8, indicating that it had received a positive conclusion regarding the environmental impact, in accordance with the relevant examination requirements that meet all international standards.

Five days later, on June 13, Azerbaijan began firing at the direction of our construction site. The gunfire continues to this day. During this period, two of our employees sustained serious injuries, and our company's tractor, crane, and truck were damaged and rendered inoperable. These incidents have been documented and published with photos and videos by us. These facts have also been recorded by diplomats from various countries, diplomatic representatives, international observers, and journalists.

We feel compelled to emphasize the following cornerstone points:

1. The claims that the plant being built in Yeraskh will create an ecological problem for Azerbaijan are false. Our plant is not metallurgical, where metal is extracted from ore, but rather a metal foundry, where finished metals are melted into rebar. In this case, there are no harmful emissions either into the atmosphere or the environment and waste dumps do not exist.
2. The residential houses in the Yeraskh community are located about 300 meters from our plant, while the nearest Azerbaijani village, Heydarabad, is 1.8 kilometers away. Therefore, there cannot be a goal to create an environmental problem for Azerbaijan here. A similar plant operates in Armenia's Charentsavan, covering the entire city and surrounding villages within a 1.8 km radius with its tens of thousands of citizens.
3. The plant will operate with a water cooling system, where the water used is contained within an internal recirculation system and never leaves the premises of the factory. This is similar to the coolant in a car engine that never leaves the car. The Araks River, which Azerbaijanis raise concerns about contamination, is located 6 kilometers away from the plant. Even if we intend to pollute the river, we cannot.
4. The chimney of our plant's furnace will have a height of 33 meters and a three-stage filtration system, through which the discharged air will not have a negative impact on the environment. This was confirmed during the EIA examination, which lasted more than 6 months. Thus, we have not violated any provisions of international conventions pointed out by Azerbaijan, as the type and productivity level of our plant does not create transboundary effects.

To substantiate these claims, we are ready to discuss them in a working format with international experts, both in-person and remotely. Following the above, our actions will be directed on international legal platforms, for which we will spare no effort and will demand compensation for the investments made, damages suffered, and lost benefits.

We emphasize that we have all the grounds, including the documentation from around 40 countries’ diplomatic representatives. If our statement is ignored and fire is again opened towards unarmed workers, we will consider this a direct attack on American capital, which does not have any environmental motives but is purely a political decision.'