Air pollution in Ulaanbaatar city, where half the Mongolian population lives, decreased visibly last winter after the government halted the use of raw coal. Smoke from the shantytown ger districts, where over 220,000 families live has long been identified as the main culprit of Ulaanbaatar’s chronic air-pollution. In the light of the ban, the government has put an alternative product on the market made from semi-coke, a by-product of coal.

Earlier today (26 June), a working group led by Ts.Tsolmon, director of Department for Deducting Air Pollution in Ulaanbaatar inspected the production process at the Tavan Tolgoi Fuel Company, which has been  constructed in Songinokhairkan District of the capital. The facility has a  storage capacity of 1000 tonnes. In order to be ready for next winter, Tavan Tolgoi Fuel LLC has produced over 30 thousand tons of refined coal since last March. The company plans to stockpile 200 thousand tons of refined coal during the summer months.

In May, the Mongolian Cabinet amended its resolution banning raw coal in Ulaanbaatar  for totally halting the burning of coal burning in plants and companies five of UB’s rural khoroos, namely Bayanzurkh, Songinokhairkhan and Khaan-Uul not mentioning the thermal power plants.