NR Minister cuts sod for construction of solid & liquid waste treatment plants

The Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed, has cut sod for the construction of the solid and liquid waste treatment plant at Gbalahi in Sagnarigu Municipality in Tamale.

He observed that the facility, which is expected to create 75 direct and over 200 indirect jobs, will help address the unemployment in the region while addressing the rural-urban migration.

The project will help in creating job for the teaming youth which will help curb rural-urban migration” he stressed.

The minister further stressed that the waste treatment plants will enhance cleanliness in the region and improve on the sanitation which was becoming a concern to the municipal and district assemblies.

With Tamale being adjudged the third largest and fastest growing city in the country, the minister said “A very clean environment will give the city a dignified look”.

He therefore urged the citizens to practice preventive measures to avoid contracting diseases as “poor sanitation goes with health problems”.

He further noted that the establishing the project in the region is as a result of the peace that the region and the country as a whole enjoys leading to the strengthening of business confidence and investment inflows into the country.

The Managing Director of Zoomliom Ghana Ltd, Florence Labi, who pledged the company’s unflinching support to continue to contribute its quota towards keeping Ghana clean, thanked the President for his visionary leadership and personal support to the environmental sanitation sector and private sector development.

Read also: President Praises Sanitation Minister, Zoomlion CEO

She noted that the waste treatment plant presents the most suitable alternative to landfill waste disposal, deploying the latest technologies in sanitation management. This she said will recycle organic waste into compost to support the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative.

The Projects

The first facility is a 200 tons waste treatment plant equipped with 21st century technologies in sanitation management and it aims to provide a sustainable solution to recover and recycle over 60% of the organic fraction of the waste into compost to boost the agricultural sector.

Presently, the region generates 183,000 tons of waste annually, most of which goes into landfills making it hazardous to the citizenry. The facility has the potential of curbing this.

The second facility, the Tamale Waste Water Treatment Plant will process about 1000 cm3 of liquid waste per day. Although the liquid waste generated in Tamale currently is between 400 to 500 cm3 (cubic meters) per day, our aim is to build to a capacity that will serve Tamale and the surrounding MMDAS like Savelugu Municipal, Nantong District, Tolon District, Kumbumgu District, Mion District and beyond.

These projects are estimated to cost 20 million Euros and will be completed within four and 12 months respectively.