‘Lavender Hill’ to go by end of 2016 — Collins Dauda

The use of the ‘Lavender Hill’ as a liquid waste disposal site will cease by the end of this year, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Collins Dauda, has announced.

That, he explained, was because two new waste treatment plants were to come on stream by August.

The two new plants are the Waste Water Treatment Plant, which is being constructed on the premises of the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant (ACARP) at Adjen Kotoku, and the Mudor Faecal Treatment Plant adjacent the famed ‘Lavender Hill’ in Accra, where liquid waste is discharged without treatment into the sea.

Alhaji Dauda announced this after touring the two plants in Accra yesterday.

Whereas the Mudor Faecal Treatment Plant is expected to be operational by March this year, the Waste Water Treatment Plant will come on stream by August.

The two waste treatment plants will cater for the contents of 260 cesspit emptiers daily.

Public/private partnership

Addressing journalists after the tour, Alhaji Dauda said although efforts were being made by the government to treat liquid or faecal waste, ‘Lavender Hill’ remained a challenge.

“We do not support the discharge of raw liquid waste into the ocean; we don’t like it, we abhor it; but it is difficult to address it with government intervention alone. It requires a huge investment to be able to address the situation.

“As a result, we are taking advantage of the government’s public/private partnership (PPP) policy and so the government, in partnership with Zoomlion, is undertaking two major projects at Adjen Kotoku and at the Mudor Plant,” he said.

He stated that the interventions to address liquid waste disposal were not only limited to Accra but that after completion of the two waste plants, similar projects would be sent to the other regions using the PPP model.

The Mudor Faecal Treatment Plant is being constructed at a cost of $35 million, while the total investment at Adjen Kotoku is $9 million.

However, Alhaji Dauda said the government and Zoomlion Company Limited were still in the process of finalising the partnership agreement.

Response to “Lavender Hill”

The Managing Director of ACARP, Dr Richard Amponsah, said the faecal treatment plant at Adjen Kotoku was designed to receive, process and treat faecal waste from the Accra metropolis, municipalities and districts.

He said the plant was a direct response to the unacceptable practices at ‘Lavender Hill.’

He said the capacity of the plant was 1,000m3 of liquid waste a day, while the treated water from the plant could be used for aquaculture, construction, watering of plants, among other uses.