City revives Mbare biogas project

. . . courts investor for $100m plant at Pomona
Innocent Ruwende Senior Reporter
Harare City Council is reviving the Mbare biogas project and seeking a new investor for the construction of a $100 million waste-to-energy plant at Pomona Dumpsite, as it moves its focus towards a smart city which embraces the green development concept.

Environment Management Committee chairperson Councillor Kudzai Kadzombe said using waste to create energy was a viable option as unsustainable waste management had adverse consequences on the environment.

“On the Mbare project, there were issues cited by the contractor that they were facing foreign currency issues, but we will try our best to finish off this project as we want to lure and entice potential partners and show them that we are a council of high moral standing,” she said.

“Apart from that project, we have also tasked the town clerk to seek new partners for the Pomona waste-to-energy project after the deal we had clinched collapsed following the expiry of the tender while it was still before the then State Procurement Board (SPB).”

The Mbare biogas project is expected to solve the garbage problem in the suburb, while the waste management plant envisaged for Pomona Dumpsite, will generate electricity, and prevent diseases like cancer and fire outbreaks.

The 450 000 euro-Mbare biogas project is a culmination of a partnership between Harare City Council and Synlak Investment, the contractor for the project and is anticipated to produce 100 Kilovolt-amps (KVA) with most of the funds coming from the European Union (EU).

The project can be expanded to produce 500KVA

Clr Kadzombe said the city, by harvesting methane gas, can get carbon credits.

Adopting such initiatives, he said, could minimise the negative impact of litter.

“Biogas is an energy that can be used as substitute energy,” he said.

“The pilot project in Mbare is at 60 percent completion. We will be using refuse from Mbare Musika to create electricity to light up Mbare flats and public bathing facilities for cross border traders, travellers and residents.

“The litter crisis at Mbare Musika is a ticking time bomb with the onset of the rains considering the cholera epidemic we have just experienced as a city. It is our responsibility as the policy makers that were given the mandate by our ratepayers to protect our environment, particularly Harare for our future generations.”

Fire outbreaks at Pomona Dumpsite have become a perennial problem and council wanted a firm with a financial muscle and technical capacity in the joint venture to solve the problem with a $100 million capital injection.

The city intends to create a properly engineered landfill as the dumpsite has been used for the last 30 years.

Council and its prospective partner will initially mine the given area before putting up all the proper requirements for a landfill, while they continue with the waste-to-energy project.

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