HARARE City Council (HCC) has inked a deal with a Dutch investor, GeoGenix BV, which will, among other things, transform its waste management system and convert Pomona dumpsite into partly a power generation plant.
This comes as Cabinet on Tuesday approved the deal, with HCC acting mayor Musarurwa Mutizwa telling the Daily News yesterday that the partnership would help deal with perennial fires at the Pomona dumpsite due to methane gas produced by micro-organisms.
“Through the engagement, we are going to see a proper rehabilitation of the Pomona dumpsite and waste management of the site and ensure that refuse does not find its way back to the residents.
“In addition to garbage reduction, we are also going to be generating energy through the waste to energy programme,” Mutizwa told the Daily News yesterday.
“We are going to engage an international consultant to see how much power we are going to get through the waste-to-energy programme and ensure that Pomona becomes a landfill site.
“The partnership itself is a measure to ensure that there are no more illegal dumping activities happening on the site because it is going to be protected and managed properly in a systematic way.”
GeoGenix BV is coming on board to offer financial assistance, while HCC would provide the land and natural resources to feed into the project.
“We are bringing back life to the dumping site and creating energy. We are no longer going to see fires due to methane gas that was being created and there is not going to be air pollution.
“The partner will do much of the funding while HCC comes in with two equities, that are refuse and land which are the biggest resources for the project to take place.
“They will bring in resources for the construction of the plant and the first step, which is the feasibility study, will see an international firm assessing how big and what more is required for the successful implementation of the project,” Mutizwa said.
The Dutch company’s representative said the partnership would go a long way in improving the city’s cleanness and help it reclaim its Sunshine City status..
“Green is a key word for the future. This is going to be a big impact project which we believe will be a triumph for your city,” Mauro Bianchi said.
Last year, HCC set up two thematic committees to work on a strategy to prevent the recurrence of fires at Pomona dumpsite following outbreaks of fire experienced in the last decade.
