President cuts sod for waste treatment plant in Upper East Region

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo Thursday broke the ground for the construction of a solid waste treatment facility at Sharigu, in the Upper East Region.

The 15 million Euro plant, which is being established by the Jospong Group and its partners, in collaboration with government, would on completion receive, sort, and process two hundred tonnes of local solid waste.

At a short ceremony at Sharigu, President Akufo-Addo said the plant was in line with his Government’s policy of creating an enabling environment for the private sector to partner government to bridge the infrastructure gap in sanitation.

He indicated the project would bring along benefits including the effective and efficient management of municipal solid waste, the production of organic compost for horticultural and agronomical purposes, reduction in the high rate of plastic pollution, and the processing of recyclable fractions of the total waste such as paper, plastic and metal for reuse.

“Equally more important will be the provision of jobs for the youth of this community and its environs, which will help improve the local economy,” he said.

The President further noted that the project would help Ghana meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on clean water and sanitation, good health and wellbeing, decent work and economic growth, sustainable cities and communities, and climate action.

He urged the Jospong Group and its partners, and all other companies interested in venturing into the waste treatment field, to replicate the facility in another parts of the country to facilitate the management of environmental sanitation in Ghana.

President Akufo tasked stakeholders to ensure the project was completed on time, according to set standards and specifications.

The President had earlier commissioned several projects made of classroom blocks and dormitories, under the Senior High School Intervention Projects, at Bolgatanga Girls Senior High School and Zamse Senior High Technical School, all in Bolgatanga.