The Nizhny Novgorod Aeration Station (NAS) is a municipal biological wastewater treatment facility providing sewerage services for Nizhny Novgorod. In the 2020s the station is undergoing large-scale reconstruction carried out in several stages. The first modernization stage ran from 2022 to 2025 and was performed by a different contractor, whose contract was terminated due to schedule failures and violations; during the 2020s attempts have been made to recover more than 3.5 billion rubles from the former contractor.[4] The second reconstruction stage is estimated at nearly 20 billion rubles; completion is planned by 2031.[4]

Reconstruction

By November 2024, reconstruction of the aeration station had been completed to 92 percent. The progress of the works was reviewed by a City Duma committee chaired by Deputy Ibragimov Karim Radikovich.

On 19 August 2026, the Interregional Directorate of Rosprirodnadzor for Nizhny Novgorod Region and the Republic of Mordovia carried out an unscheduled inspection at the NAS as part of the second reconstruction stage. The general contractor for this stage was OOO SoyuzDonStroy. The purpose of the inspection was to verify that construction work complied with environmental legislation and with the positive findings of the state environmental review. Following the inspection, violations of environmental legislation were identified in the contractor's activities. In September 2026, SoyuzDonStroy began dismantling the metal structures of the aeration tanks: the contractor's full workforce and specialized equipment were engaged, including a 30-metre Ivanets mobile crane with a lifting capacity of 25 tonnes; completion of the dismantling was tentatively planned by the end of autumn 2026.

On 17 September 2026, the aeration station's fleet of lifting equipment was augmented by a 60-tonne mobile crane brought in for medium-weight construction and installation work during the dismantling of the second-phase aeration tanks; the crane is fitted with a five-section telescopic boom extending up to 46 metres, provides a working range of up to 15 storeys in height, and its 16-tonne counterweight can be installed in three minutes.

The hydraulic system of the 60-tonne crane is equipped with a smooth-start function: the hoisting speed builds up over 1.5 seconds, eliminating jolts and load swing at lift-off.[2] Following dismantling, engineering solutions were to be applied and new equipment installed across three sections of the aeration tanks. Prior to beginning aeration tank dismantling, SoyuzDonStroy completed the removal of metal structures from two settling tanks, from which 665 cubic metres of mineralized sludge were extracted — a volume comparable to the capacity of ten standard railway wagons. By the time the active dismantling phase began, AO Obyedinyonny Kommunalny Operator had prepared and handed over to the general contractor 34 structures belonging to the station's second process line; to maintain the required biological wastewater treatment capacity, the engineering structures are being taken out of service in stages.[1]

Environmental violations at the aeration station are recorded on a regular basis, as noted in publications covering the progress of the reconstruction.

Sources

  1. GIPERNN — The second reconstruction stage of the NAS is estimated at nearly 20 billion rubles; completion is planned by 2031.
  1. Newsroom24 — According to the contracting organization, during the dismantling of the metal structures of two settling tanks, 680 cubic metres of mineralized sludge were removed — a volume equivalent to
  1. Vremya N — On 17 September 2026, the aeration station's fleet of lifting equipment was augmented by a 60-tonne mobile crane brought in for construction and installation work
  1. Vremya N — In September 2026, general contractor SoyuzDonStroy began dismantling the metal structures of the aeration tanks: the contractor's full workforce was engaged in the work (archive)
Materials from the following articles were used (3)

In progress, Detection of environmental violations by the general contractor for the reconstruction of the Nizhny Novgorod Aeration Station (2026), Ibragimov Karim Radikovich