Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly to set up biogas plant
The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has begun the process to open a competitive bid for interested companies to construct a biogas plant for the processing of the huge tons of solid and liquid waste generated by its residents.
When completed, the usable end product from the project is expected to reduce the gas demand deficit in the country considerably.
Sources close to the KMA who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi said the 100 acreage landfill site at Kaase in the Metropolis started operations in 2004, receiving 1,200 – 1,300 cubic metres of solid waste and 318.5 cubic metres of liquid waste each day.
An additional advantage would also be the permanent termination of the health hazard posed to the immediate residents of Kaasi due to the powerful stench the huge piles of waste emit, and its attraction for mosquitoes and other dangerous reptiles.
The project is one of the numerous projects lined up to rid the city of garbage and restore it to its past glory as the Garden City of West Africa, the source said.
Some residents within the area have complained of the health implications of the mounting garbage at the site causing a lot of nuisance to the surrounding households.
Theophillus Arhin, a resident who summed up their concerns, said they were deeply worried about the offensive smell how the place had become a b for mosquitoes and a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
The occasional burning of the refuse gives off billows of smoke, the inhalation of which was gradually exposing them and their infants to various upper respiratory tract disease is, equally worrying, he added.
The proximity of the landfill site to the main stretch of road linking the community to Ahodwo, Santasi Rounnd-About, Asokwa and Ahinsan, is another big bother as commuters most of whom board vehicles by the roadside, have to cover their noses with handkerchiefs to avoid breathing in the unpleasant smell and dust.
Madam Mary Appiah-Kubi, another resident, said the stench becomes worse whenever it rains, forcing residents to leave the windows and doors to their rooms open and this gave free entrance to the mosquitoes to attack them.
In a sharp rebuttal however, a KMA official at the refuse damp site who did not want to be named, said the KMA had been spraying and covering the dump to reduce the stench.
He pleaded with the residents to exercise restraint while authorities ensure that the spraying and covering of the site was done effectively to avoid any health hazards.
Source: GNA