THE Harare City Council (HCC) has finally handed over the Pomona dumpsite to Geogenix BV, a German investor that is set to turn the dumpsite into a 22-MW energy plant to feed electricity into the national grid.
The project will run under the banner Geo Pomona Waste Management (Pvt) Ltd.
This comes after Cabinet in February approved the € 303.9 million HCC joint venture deal to transform the Pomona dumpsite into a waste management project.
Speaking at the handover ceremony at the dumpsite in Harare yesterday, Geogenix BV country representative Delish Nguwaya said the project comes at an opportune time when the nation is grappling with power shortages and moving towards being power efficient.
“I wish to thank the government of Zimbabwe for creating a conducive environment for attracting international investors such as Georgenix BV into the energy sector especially in our country where power shortages are a daily challenge,” said Nguwaya.
“We hope to play our part in alleviating this problem. We look forward to putting up a state-of- the-art plant in the country if not in the region.
“The investor is already exploring other investment opportunities in the country.”
Nguwaya also said the establishment of the Pomona waste plant would create employment for university graduates and the community.
“We also look forward to creating over 300 jobs where graduates and the community will benefit from.
“So this is not just about the electricity but helping in transferring skills, boosting economic growth among other benefits.
“In just six months you will see how much this place would have been transformed because the investor is ready to start work already,” he said.
HCC officials, employees will, however, remain on Pomona site until May 20 before Geo Pomona Waste Management (Pvt) Ltd takes over exclusive management of the site.
For the next 30 years, the two parties shall work hand in hand to ensure the contract is carried through to its successful conclusion.