Integrated urban development

Project description

Title: Integrated urban development
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Mongolia
Lead executing agency: Ministry of Construction and Urban Development
Overall term: 2006 to 2012

Mongolia The Director of the Lithuanian Standards Board, Brunonas Shichkus, welcomes the Director of the Mongolian Administration of Land Affairs, Construction, Geodesy and Cartography, Ts. Gankhuu, early 2012, in Vilnius. © GIZ

Context

Mongolia has a continental climate, with long, cold winters and short, hot summers. Besides being the world's coldest capital city, Ulan Bator also has the highest 'delta-T factor', i.e. a difference of 60°C between indoor and outdoor temperatures in winter. This poses a major challenge for building materials, construction technology and infrastructure services. Ulan Bator is on the brink of ecological collapse due to high levels of air, soil and water pollution, energy and water shortages, ever-increasing traffic chaos and the expansion of ger settlements. Despite having recognised these problems, the Ministry of Roads, Transportation, Construction and Urban Development and the city council of Ulan Bator are still unable to introduce appropriate solutions. Urban development planning is neither energy-efficient nor environmentally sound, while the private sector and civil society are still not sufficiently involved.

Objective

Steering and management capacity in the Ministry of Roads, Transport, Construction and Urban Development as well as in Ulan Bator's city council has improved.

Approach

The programme provides policy, technical and in-process advice and implements pilot projects incorporating possible solutions. This comprehensive advisory strategy helps to ensure that the programme is established as firmly as possible at the participating institutions and in the private sector. Environmentally friendly, energy-efficient technologies and building materials are used in the pilot measures as a way of testing new solutions, acquiring investors and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The programme focuses on the following issues:

  • energy-efficient and low-cost new construction and renovation of buildings;
  • upskilling for engineers and other professional groups working in the construction sector;
  • improving the legislative framework, including norms and standards, for sustainable urban development, renovation and ecological construction.

Results achieved so far

Training (non-formal upskilling)
The training modules developed by the programme (composite thermal insulation system, dry construction, metal roof construction, natural stone plastering) help those studying at vocational schools to improve their skills.
The Training, Research, Construction and Procurement Unit (TRCPU) at the Ministry of Road, Transportation, Construction and Urban Development has included these modules in its training programme for engineers and architects, together with upskilling courses which will qualify them as energy managers.
The engineers from the General Authority for Specialized Inspection (GASI) are the first in the country to have been trained in carrying out energy audits for buildings. As a result, the thermal insulation standards for new buildings, which have been officially adopted and which were prepared in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), are now being complied with for the first time.
Another element of the further training provided to building contractors and vocational school teachers and students is the introduction of new, energy-efficient construction technologies. The training enables young unemployed people from ger districts to significantly boost their employment prospects. For instance, 36 out of 206 young people trained in natural stone plastering now work in three newly formed plastering companies in Ulan Bator.
Development advisors at the Rajiv Gandhi vocational school and at the Ulan Bator Technical College pass their knowledge of environmentally friendly construction on to the vocational school teachers, and also provide them with insights as to how they can structure their teaching so that is of practical relevance. Together, they devise modern teaching plans which reflect current vocational standards and which correspond to the need for skilled professionals.

Thermo-technical renovation, energy-efficient new construction and solar thermal energy
Ulan Bator's city council has drawn up an application to carry out a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project for the thermo-technical renovation of prefabricated apartment blocks, which can achieve savings in heating energy of up to 60 per cent. Complementing the project is a feasibility study prepared by KfW Entwicklungsbank.
The Mongolian-German energy-efficient model quarter, ECO CITY 'Berlin', for which the Mongolian Government has earmarked a sum equivalent to EUR 20 million, is being implemented. The parties involved in this development are the Ministry of Roads, Transport, Construction and Urban Development, the Ulan Bator municipality and the private construction sector. 'Berlin' is part of the Mongolian Government's programme to create 100,000 residential units. Compared to traditional residential construction methods, the renovation has enabled not only savings in heating energy of 65 per cent but also the introduction of solar thermal energy.

Clean air
A reliable and transparent pool of air pollution data has been ascertained by using containers incorporating equipment designed to measure air quality. The Mongolian public is kept informed about the level of air pollution on a daily basis. Clean air legislation, drawn up at the request of Mongolia's President as a result of the alarming data, has been passed. Under the new legislation, environmentally friendly stoves must be used and energy saved in the construction and renovation of buildings. It will also include appropriate mechanisms to encourage solar energy use. The comprehensive guidelines drawn up by the programme regarding solar thermal facilities have created the basis for the introduction of solar energy in Mongolia.

Norms and standards
The introduction of the European system of norms and standards in the construction sector and the resultant increase in Mongolia's competitiveness, are being supported. Norms and standards are adapted and agreed upon together with the responsible Mongolian authorities. Study trips to Germany, Poland and Lithuania provide an opportunity for exchanging experiences.

Environmentally friendly and energy-efficient stoves
The GTZ 7.5, a stove for cooking and heating which has a 90 per cent level of energy efficiency, which reduces fine dust emissions by more than 90 per cent and consumes 50 per cent less coal, is in demand among the residents of ger settlements. The manufacturer of the GIZ-developed stove won a tender to produce and subsidise 1,000 stoves, financed by the Clean Air Fund of Mongolia's Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism. The production and sale of the GTZ 7.5 is now in full swing.

Mongolia. Visit to the testing laboratory at one of Lithuania's technical universities where a range of construction products are tested. © GIZ

Urban regeneration
A draft law on urban regeneration has been presented to the Parliament for comment. Under this legislation, residents would be obliged to assist in drawing up a land use and development plan as well as in adopting the plans in the responsible bodies. The first steps towards resident involvement have been taken in the regeneration project for the 7th micro-district in Ulan Bator. Together with the cooperation of the Goethe-Institut liaison office these steps have been recorded in a series of photographs.