WORLD BANK TO SUPPORT ASSEMBLY BUILD LANDFILL SITE (PAGE 29)

THE World Bank is to support the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) with funds to complete a multi-purpose landfill site at Sofokrom.
The landfill site, which is being constructed under the Second Urban Environmental and Sanitation Project, is to improve waste collection and management in the metropolis.
The waste will be recycled to generate biogas for the production of electricity and fertiliser for agriculture.
Apart from the generation of electricity, the assembly will also generate income from the collection and dumping of refuse at the site.
According to engineers working on the project, the power that would be generated could supply a whole community, and this would augment the country’s energy supply.
the Co-ordinator of the project, Mr Simon Addo-Larbi, told the daily graphic that due to the increase in urban population, there was the need to attach importance to sanitation.
He said there had been a problem at the bidding stage and that had affected the early completion of the project.
The co-ordinator said the initial cost of the project was estimated at about $1m but said that had more than doubled due to the non-unavailability of raw materials.
He explained that during the initial biding, the contractors knew they were going to get their materials for the construction of the landfill site from the region or other parts of the metropolis.
“But they realised that they had to transport materials such as chipping from other regions to the project site for the commencement of work,” he said.
Mr Addo-Larbi said at the moment the assembly had made another submission to the World Bank for the resumption of work on the project, which came to a standstill after earth works.
The co-ordinator said the completion of the project would help the assembly to better assess the quantity of waste generated and collected in the metropolis.
He said the site had been designed with opened cells with perforated pipes to ensure the systematic treatment of the waste.
In a related development waste contractors in the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolis have stressed the need for proper waste management to ensure a healthy environment.
They indicated that the problem of a proper waste dumping site must be solved immediately to promote good health.
When contacted, sources at the metropolitan assembly indicated that dirty streets stretching from the STMA Road to Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital, Paa Grant and to Nkrumah roundabouts towards Kwesimintsim Traffic Light were to be cleaned by the assembly’s environmental workers.
The Public Relations Manager of the STMA, Mr John Laste, attributed the problem to the negative attitude of the residents to waste disposal.
According to the Regional Operations Supervisor of Zoomlion, Mr Felix Boankrah, seeing filth all over in the metropolis was not the best and that the company had come up with measures to deal with the problem by operating on shift basis.
“It is sad that in this modern day people still keep their domestic waste in poly there bags instead of making use of bins that are designed for such purposes,” he added.
Mr Boankrah said Zoomlion had the modern equipment to handle the waste problem and advised the public to make use of the litter bins provided by the company, and warned that those who would fail to ensure good sanitary practices would be reported to the environmental health units of the assembly for appropriate action.