The nationwide project, which is expected to be a public-private initiative between the government and Sewage Systems Ghana Limited, will support the country’s economy through the creation of jobs for both skilled and unskilled labour.

“Currently, we have a working plan that we are implementing and I can confidently say that within the next five years, we should see the Faecal Treatment Plant project in Accra replicated across the regional capitals of the country,” the Communications Manager of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Mr Robert Coleman, said on Tuesday, February 28, in Accra.

He was addressing a section of journalists after a tour of some of the company’s facilities in Accra to give them firsthand knowledge of the projects undertaken by the Jospong Group.

Mr Coleman said the aim of the group was to replicate the project in other parts of the country, especially the regional capitals, as well as district capitals with big populations.

He observed that the group was ready to partner the new government in its quest to improve sanitation in the country.

Full-scale operations

The Manager of the Lavender Hill Faecal and Mudor Waste Water Treatment Plant, Mrs Florence Cobbold, said the plant would begin full-scale operations in the third quarter of this year.

The Lavender Hill Faecal and Mudor Waste Water Treatment Plant estimated at US$80 million is a public-private initiative between the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and Sewage Systems Ghana Limited.

Capacity of the plant

On the capacity of the plant, Mrs Cobbold observed that the plant, which has a lifespan of more than 20 years, has the capacity to treat 2,000 cubic metres of liquid waste from about 200 cesspit empties daily.

“It has a well-equipped laboratory, a 5,500 cubic metre tank, a machine for odour control, among other facilities.There is a process to use biogas to generate one kilowatt of electricity from the operation of the facility to power the plant,” she added.

Moving from the previous method

The famous Lavender Hill got its name from the stench that emanates from that side of the coast because of the daily dumping of tonnes of liquid and solid waste into the sea for more than a century.

At least 180 truckloads of liquid waste are poured into the sea at that spot on a daily basis, and city authorities collect fees for the dumping while residents and visitors to the area endure the stench.

However, the commissioning of the plants last year meant that all the trucks had to send the liquid waste to the faecal treatment plant, while various sewage systems in parts of the city pump liquid waste directly into the waste water plant for treatment.

The manager of the plant said the second phase would then generate an additional 7.5 megawatts of power, adding that besides the power, the plants will also produce clean water and pump it into the nearby lagoon so that it can be used for recreational purposes. He, however, noted that the water would also be clean enough for domestic use.

She opined that the plants would also generate biogas and compost that could be used for bio-charcoal or manure for farms across the country and other West African countries.

“This plant was also designed to be used as a training facility for university and other tertiary institutions students who are interested in environmental science and waste management studies," he said.