Design contracts for sanitary landfills were yesterday signed by the Ministry of Communities for Bartica, Linden and Mahdia.
A release from the Ministry of Communities said that the contracts totalling $131M will also cover waste profile studies of the three communities, recommendations for resource recovery and recycling programmes.
Approximately 70,000 residents in four municipalities and one Neighbourhood Democratic Council are expected to benefit from these modern waste disposal facilities.
The release said that the Ministry has collaborated with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to find suitable locations for disposal facilities. Several locations have since been earmarked and conditional approval given for the development of sanitary landfills.
The landfill design would encompass topographic surveys of the sites, access to the site, site security, waste disposal and fill management, leachate management, landfill gas management, operations and maintenance manuals, environmental audit and environmental monitoring and management systems
It will also entail design drawings and bills of quantities and estimates for construction of the sites as well as preparation of bidding documents.
The consultants are Stan Gonsalves; Executive Vice President of Exponential Services Inc. in association with Lead Consultant, Raymond Latchmansingh of Caribbean Engineering and Management Consultants Inc. (CEMCO).
Designs and bidding documents are expected to be finished by the first quarter of 2018 and bidding will begin shortly thereafter.
The contract for the hydrogeological and geotechnical investigations at the proposed landfills in Region 1 (Mabaruma and Port Kaituma) will be undertaken by E & A Consultants Ltd.
Conditional approval has been given by EPA for the proposed site at Khan’s Hill in Mabaruma and Shea/White Creek at Port Kaituma.
Soil investigations will be undertaken at various proposed sites including 14 Miles Bartica, Region 7; Kara Kara, Linden, Region 10; Bon Success, Lethem, Reg 9; Red and White, Mahdia, Region 8; Khan’s Hill, Mabaruma, Region 1; White Creek, Port Kaituma, Region 1 and Onderneeming, Essequibo Coast, Region 2.
Dumpsites that will be upgrade to landfills are at Byderabo, Bartica; Rosehall; Lusignan and Haags Bosch on the East Bank.
The release said that it is the ministry’s intention to upgrade Haags Bosch to a demonstration site and determine suitable locations for landfills in Regions Three, Five and Six.
