GHANA – Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has commissioned an Integrated Composting and Recycling Plant with a capacity to process 2,400 tonnes of waste daily.
The new integrated recycling plant is located in Adagya in the Bosomtwe District of the Ashanti Region and is said to cost around US$95 million.
According to a statement by Ghanaian officials, when fully operational, the plant is projected to create employment for at least 2,300 people, 800 of them being directly employed in the plant.
While waste management is a nationwide issue in Ghana, it’s most obvious in Kumasi, one of the fast-growing city in Ghana that generates about 3,000 metric tonnes of waste a day.
In Kumasi just like in many of Ghana’s towns, waste collection is not efficient and gutters are persistently clogged, despite pressure on government and promises in return.
A common complaint through the city is that when people clean out the gutters, waste will sit in a pile nearby and eventually find its way back.
Piles of rubbish sit on street corners, picked on by birds. After a storm, plastic bottles washed out with the rain and end up in Ghana’s return to beaches.
In 2012, the World Bank estimated that poor sanitation was costing Ghana’s economy around 420 million Ghana cedis ($290 million) each year, equivalent to 1.6% of its GDP.
The study found most of these costs come from the annual premature death of 19,000 Ghanaians, largely due to poor sanitation and hygiene.
The new integrated Composting and Recycling Plant is however a major step towards addressing the waste problem in Kumasi and in the greater Ashanti region.
Speaking during the commissioning of the plant President Akufo-Addo said the plant which is arguably one of the largest in the continent would treat solid and plastic waste from the Kumasi metropolis and adjoining districts into reusable materials and organic products.
According to a report by Ghana Web, the US$95-million plant was financed by a loan facility from Zenith Bank, one of the largest financial institution in Anglophone West Africa.
The plant which is also expected to produce 3,000 bags of organic fertiliser daily will also contribute towards supporting sustainable farming in the West African country.
President Akufo-Addo in his speech reiterated government’s commitment to public, private partnership towards enhance waste management.
He also commended the Jospong Group for investing in waste management and also creating jobs for the people of the Ashanti Region.
Liked this article? Subscribe to DealStreet Africa News, our regular email newsletter with the latest news, deals and insights from Africa’s business, economy and more. SUBSCRIBE HERE
