By Edmund Smith-Asante
The
use of the ‘Lavender Hill’ as a liquid waste disposal site will cease by the
end of this year, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development,
Alhaji Collins Dauda, has announced.
That,
he explained, was because two new waste treatment plants were to come on stream
by August. The two new plants are the Waste Water Treatment Plant, which is
being constructed on the premises of the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant
(ACARP) at Adjen Kotoku, and the Mudor Faecal Treatment Plant adjacent the
famed ‘Lavender Hill’ in Accra, where liquid waste is discharged without
treatment into the sea.
Alhaji
Dauda announced this after touring the two plants in Accra yesterday. Whereas
the Mudor Faecal Treatment Plant is expected to be operational by March this
year, the Waste Water Treatment Plant will come on stream by August.
The
two waste treatment plants will cater for the contents of 260 cesspit emptiers
daily. Public/private partnership Addressing journalists after the tour, Alhaji
Dauda said although efforts were being made by the government to treat liquid
or faecal waste, ‘Lavender Hill’ remained a challenge.
“We
do not support the discharge of raw liquid waste into the ocean; we don’t like
it, we abhor it; but it is difficult to address it with government intervention
alone. It requires a huge investment to be able to address the situation.
“As
a result, we are taking advantage of the government’s public/private
partnership (PPP) policy and so the government, in partnership with Zoomlion,
is undertaking two major projects at Adjen Kotoku and at the Mudor Plant,” he said.
He
stated that the interventions to address liquid waste disposal were not only
limited to Accra but that after completion of the two waste plants, similar
projects would be sent to the other regions using the PPP model. The Mudor
Faecal Treatment Plant is being constructed at a cost of $35 million, while the
total investment at Adjen Kotoku is $9 million.
However,
Alhaji Dauda said the government and Zoomlion Company Limited were still in the
process of finalising the partnership agreement. Response to “Lavender Hill”
The Managing Director of ACARP, Dr Richard Amponsah, said the faecal treatment
plant at Adjen Kotoku was designed to receive, process and treat faecal waste
from the Accra metropolis, municipalities and districts.
He
said the plant was a direct response to the unacceptable practices at ‘Lavender
Hill.’ He said the capacity of the plant was 1,000m3 of liquid waste a day,
while the treated water from the plant could be used for aquaculture,
construction, watering of plants, among other uses.
This story was first published by the Daily Graphic on February 4, 2016.
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