UNDP Initiates the Destruction Process of the Napalm Powder Surplus
On Wednesday, 21 November 2012, Mr. Wiliam Infante, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Serbia and company Polyeco S.A. signed a contract according to which Polyeco S.A. will implement the destruction of surplus napalm powder of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia (MoD RS). The
destruction is planned in accordance with the plans and needs of the MoD RS.
The destruction will cost 147,400.00 EUR, and the majority of the necessary funds, namely 94,200.00 EUR, have been provided by Germany. According to the signed contract, in the course of the next three and a half months, approximately 110 tonnes of napalm powder will be transported to and destroyed in Sweden while abiding to all current ecological regulations.
This destruction is a part of the activities planned within the Capacity Development Programme for Conventional Ammunition Stockpile Management for the Republic of Serbia (CASM), a joint development programme of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia,
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
CASM programme envisions the following three key areas of activity:
- Demilitarization and Disposal of 1,133 tonnes of White Phosphorous and Napalm Powder Filled Ammunition;
- Infrastructure Development of ammunition storage areas and capacity development of ammunition management systems at Mirsac and Mirnicka Reka;
- Infrastructure improvements of demilitarization facility – TRZ Kragujevac.
Key goals of CASM are to improve human security, bolster the counter-proliferation efforts and to improve demilitarization capacities of the Republic of Serbia.
Napalm powder destruction is the first among the planned CASM activities.