Harare (New Ziana)-The multi-million-dollar Geo-Pomona Waste-to-Energy Project in Harare highlights the confidence investors have in the conducive business environment which has been fostered by the Second Republic, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Monday.
He was speaking at a ground-breaking ceremony for the project, which will convert waste into power and contribute to the energy needs of the country.
President Mnangagwa said the project attested to the conducive environment for mutually beneficial partnerships between the public and private sectors that had been created in the country. The former dumpsite used to be a source of discomfort for residents in surrounding areas as fires frequently broke out, emitting huge plumes of smoke.
But now, after the conversion of the waste site into an energy producer, 22 megawatts of electricity will be generated, and fed into the national grid. This, President Mnangagwa said, shows that waste is now a valuable commodity that will provide throughput to the plant, while improving overall sanitation and hygiene in the City of Harare.
“It is commendable that under the Build-Own-Operate and Transfer joint venture model, the project will see the construction of a waste-to-energy plant which will produce 22 megawatts of electricity,” he said. “Once on the national grid, this energy output will go a long way towards augmenting our national energy mix. I congratulate and commend the Board and Management of Geo-Pomona (Pvt) Ltd for this innovation and complementing Government efforts in the energy sector,” he said.
He said government was committed to creating employment and empowerment opportunities for women and the youth and was pleased to note that this Geo-Pomona Project had a staff complement which includes this important demographic. President Mnangagwa said the project served as testament to the government’s commitment to seeing communities transform to world-class standards, where residents enjoyed the ambiance of modern built environments.
He said the project marked the beginning of a new era in the restoration of the Sunshine City, distinguished by clean environments and friendly communities. “The undesirable landfills, including the resultant ground and air pollution, should now cease to be a public, health and environmental challenge. More importantly, the conversion of waste into energy remains a critical component of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and thus, an important intervention with regards climate change mitigation,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said the project must emerge as a flagship waste to energy project that can be replicated in other parts of our country.
He said benefits derived from the project must give impetus to all parties, such as the Environmental Management Agency, to consolidate existing activities and build capacity with regards to ensuring sustainability in waste disposal and management.
He called upon Harare City Council and all local authorities to scale up the mobilisation of financial resources to develop modern infrastructure befitting the prosperous and empowered upper middle-income economic status that the government plans to achieve by 2030.
President Mnangagwa praised Geo-Pomona Waste Management (Pvt) Ltd for transforming the Pomona waste dumpsite, which was previously an eyesore, into a promising modern and clean infrastructure. He challenged citizens to equally play their part as stewards to a clean and healthy environment and reject filthy environments and dirt.
“I have observed that our once beautiful infrastructure in cities and towns has fast been deteriorating. This has seen potholes on our roads; erratic water supplies and poor street lighting, amongst other challenges. Collectively, we must address these matters,” he said.
New Ziana
