President John Dramani Mahama says the Agbogbloshie landfill site will be developed into an industrial park after being cleared of its accumulated waste.
He said the government plans to establish a major textile factory at the site to create jobs for young people.
“The reclaimed land will become an Industrial Park and a major textile factory,” he said.
President Mahama made this known on Friday, September 18, during the commissioning of an exercise to move accumulated waste from Agbogbloshie to the Adepa Engineered Landfill Site near Nsawam in the Eastern Region.
The President said the waste would be transported to the Adepa landfill for controlled disposal, compaction and covering.
He added that major haulage would take place at night to reduce disruption and allow large quantities of waste to be moved as part of the government’s 24-Hour Economy initiative.
The exercise is expected to be completed in about 90 days and remove an estimated one million tonnes of waste from the area.
The waste is being evacuated with the support of the Ghana Armed Forces and equipment acquired under the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP), including tipper trucks, excavators, bulldozers and wheel loaders.
He said the government would also put measures in place to ensure that the area does not become a dumping site again after the exercise.
The Ghana Armed Forces will support efforts to protect the reclaimed land, while the Accra Metropolitan Assembly and the Ablekuma Central Municipal Assembly are expected to enforce sanitation by-laws to prevent renewed dumping.
“The site must not become a dump again,” he stressed.
The President also appealed to residents of Agbogbloshie and Old Fadama to cooperate with the military, DRIP operators and assembly teams during the exercise.
President Mahama said the government’s broader waste management plan includes the provision of waste bins, transfer stations, additional landfill sites and recycling plants to improve the country’s sanitation system.
