Cabinet approval to run Waste Management Project under public and private partnership

Cabinet approval has been granted for the memorandum presented by Urban Development and Housing Minister Prasanna Ranatunga to sustainably run the Metro Colombo   Solid Waste Management Project under public and private partnership in order to solve the solid waste problem in Sri Lanka within the next 5 years.

Minister Ranatunga had recently instructed the Secretary to the Urban Development and Housing Ministry to prepare a suitable system for the further implementation of this project.

Accordingly, an Expert Technical Committee was appointed by the Ministry Secretary to prepare a suitable system.The Expert Technical Committee has submitted a report after conducting a long technical analysis regarding the Solid Waste Management Project related to the Colombo Metropolis.

According to the report, an annual cost of about Rs.2,125 billion has to be spent to maintain the project as per the initial plan.

Also, the relevant committee report has revealed that 300 metric tons of garbage per day can be economically benefited from this project.Generally, more than 600 metric tons of garbage are collected in Colombo city alone every day.

These garbage stocks are brought to the Kelaniya area and transported to the Aruwakkalu area in Puttalam and stored in the sanitary system.

This sanitary landfill project is being implemented in an area of 265 acres in the Aruwakkalu area, and it is also special that several acres have been beautified as a park, while some areas have been declared as conservation areas and eco-friendly.

Minister Ranatunga said that work will be carried out with a partnership of private companies to run this project in a financially profitable and sustainable manner without using Government funds.

The Minister also said that the Government can get some dividends by carrying out this project under a business model.

He also said that solid waste can be deposited in the scientific sanitary landfill, thereby obtaining natural gas for energy and water for cultivation.

The Minister said that it is common in the developed countries to store sanitary waste environmentally friendly in order to provide a proper solution to the garbage crisis in this country, and this is a project that will provide a successful solution to the garbage problems in this country.