Mankessim waste treatment plant to boost local economy
The Jospong Group of companies has commissioned its 16th waste management treatment plant.
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The latest plant, the Mankessim Waste Treatment Plant, in the Central Region, is a centralised integrated recycling compost plant (IRECOP) and medical waste treatment facility, and will serve the purpose of collecting and treating hazardous components of healthcare waste.
It has been built to use technology to convert waste into valuable resources such as compost and plastic pellets and is expected to create over 700 jobs.
The plant would process about 9,600 kg of hazardous waste daily and create around 300 job opportunities for local youth.
Commissioning
The commissioning last Thursday attracted a host of dignitaries to the site, including the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, and several senior management of Jospong and Zoomlion, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Lydia Seyram Alhassan; Minister of Environment, Ophelia Mensah
Hayford; the Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, and some traditional leaders, led by the Paramount Chief of Mankessim, Osagyefo Amanfo Edu VI.
Dr Siaw Agyepong said waste could no longer be considered ‘trash’ in its literal sense, emphasising the increasing value of waste to transform both individual lives and local economies.
"Waste is no longer disposable; it has become a valuable resource."
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He said the Mankessim plant was set to generate approximately $750,000 in carbon credits for both the state and the operating company.
This fund, the Jospong Group CEO stated, would be reinvested into the facility's expansion and other sectors of the economy.
Cleaner Ghana
Ms Alhassan commended Jospong for the foresight to put up the facility at Mankessim, stressing that the plant was a testament to the government's commitment to a cleaner Ghana.
She was excited that not only was the plant going to use advanced technology to convert waste into valuable resources such as compost and plastic pellets, but it was going to create over 700 jobs.
“There is no doubt that this facility is further proof of government’s commitment to the cleaner Ghana plan, but also its determination to provide the enabling environment for the necessary interventions to provide jobs for the youth,” the Water and Sanitation Minister stated.
Mrs Mensah Hayford acknowledged the plant's vital role in environmental protection, stating that its completion was especially meaningful due to her late husband's advocacy.
The Minister of Health, Dr Okoe-Boye, described the inclusion of a medical waste treatment facility in the operations of the plant as significant as “it will now help tackle regional medical waste challenges.”
Transforming Mankessim
Osagyefo Amanfo Edu VI was grateful to the Jospong Group for providing an answer to his 30-year prayer for such a facility in his paramountcy to address local waste challenges.
The Paramount Chief expressed optimism about the compost's potential to transform Mankessim into an agro-processing hub.