President cuts sod for Ghana’s first ever waste treatment plant

As part of efforts to promote effective sanitation in the country, and to help win the war against filth, work has begun on the construction of the €60million Sekondi-Takoradi Solid and Liquid Waste facilities at Asaakae, in the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipality (EKMA) of the Western Region.

The project is being executed by the leading waste management company in the country, Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL), together with its partners, which are the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Sewerage Systems Ghana Limited (SSGL), Pureco and Komptech.

When completed, the waste treatment facility will serve about two million people in its catchment area.

Good sanitation

Speaking at a short ceremony, yesterday, to cut sod for the project to begin, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo reiterated the importance of good sanitation to the country, saying it is the reason why the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources was set up.

He indicated that the waste treatment project is an indication of the good relations between the government and the private sector in fighting the menace of the filth that has engulfed the country.

According to the President, the project, when completed, will help reduce the high rate of plastic and other solid wastes in the country.

“Equally important is the fact that it will provide jobs for the people, potable water, good roads, which will help improve the water and sanitation situation in the municipality,” he said.

The President urged all relevant state institutions to ensure that the construction of the project is carried out to the right specifications. He commended Jospong Group of Companies for its partnership with the government to improve sanitation in the country.

He also applauded the company for helping in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

“Indeed, your efforts in the fight against COVID-19 is a patriotic intervention,” he stated.

Sustaining the gains

The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, explained that the two waste treatment facilities will help improve and sustain the gains made in the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) space.

She said her ministry, over the last three-and-a-half years, has enjoyed fruitful relations with members of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), Ghana, adding that she would continue to work with them to ensure a clean and a healthy country.

Project

The Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Joseph Siaw-Agyepong, disclosed that the project will occupy a 200-acre land and will comprise a 400-tonne solid waste recycling and composting plant; 1000 cubic metres waste water treatment facility to serve about two million people; and a staff quarters that will accommodate 250 staff members.

Other facilities are a training and research centre laboratory and a 7.5 kilometre road from Asaakae to the site.

Dr Siaw-Agyepong added that apart from the about 250 direct jobs that project will create for the indigenous people, about 1500 indirect jobs are also expected to be created.

According to him, both treatment facilities will be completed within 11 months.

“The solid waste treatment will be completed by three months and the liquid waste treatment will be completed by eight months,” he noted.