A parliamentary delegation has given the land fill project at Gbalahi, near Tamale, thumps up, with hopes that the contractors will complete the Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant (IRECOP) between July-August, this year as expected.
IRECOP, which is an integrated waste processing and recycling company established to receive, sort, process and recycle solid waste to produce organic compost for agronomic purposes, is an initiative of Zoomlion, the waste management wing of the Jospong Group.
Peter Dagadu, General Manager of the Waste landfill, briefing the joint parliamentary select committee members – made up of Local Government and Rural Development, Environment, Science Technology and Innovation, during a tour of the project site, said the super structure is 60 percent complete and upon completion would create 100 direct jobs for the locals.
The 5.5 Million Euro Project is to help tackle the challenges with waste management in the Tamale metropolis as well as surrounding municipalities and districts such as Sagnarigu, Savelugu, Nanton, Tolon and Kumbungu and can handle up to 500 tonnes of waste daily in addition to 1000 cubic waste water treatment.
The chairman of the committee on Local Government, Emmanuel Akwasi in his assessment said members were pleased with what was on site and commended the government, Jospong group, Tamale Metro Assembly and the contractors for their effort so far.
“One of the issues we raised, which is being addressed is the leaches that found their ways into farmlands around and potentially could affect the food chain, but we are happy to note that in collaboration with UNICEF the Tamale Metro Assembly is testing the quality of water and our understanding is that we are passing the test,” the committee chair stressed.
The ranking member, and MP for Odododiodo, Nii Lante Vandepuye for his part noted; “The assurances we were given when we came in last time and the recommendations we made have been factored in, regarding the management and maintenance of the landfill site and this have been taken care of, unlike Takoradi,” he stated.
“Takoradi, Kumasi and even Accra should be able to have that dynamism to manage their landfills like Tamale has done,” Mr. Vandepuye added.
Other recoverable materials which the IRECOP hopes to tackle include plastics and metal scraps which serve as input materials for the steel and plastic manufacturing sectors.
Story by: Nelson Adanuti Nyadror
