More cells to be constructed at Haags Bosch

…waste products’ stench at landfill to be addressed

The sum of $400 million has been set aside in the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry’s budget for the construction of cells at the Haags Bosch sanitary landfill facility at Eccles, East Bank Demerara.
This allocation was approved by the Parliamentary Committee of Supply on Thursday, during day three of the Consideration of the 2024 Budget Estimates of revenue and expenditure. The $400 million for Haags Bosch is an increase of $100 million over the $300 million budgeted in 2023.
The cells are part of a strategic plan devised by the LG&RD ministry to eliminate the stench emanating from the dumpsite, which affects residents in surrounding areas and commuters utilizing the Eccles to Mandela and Heroes highways. According to Local Government and Regional Development Minister Sonia Parag, a portion of the $400 million will be spent on further upgrading the facility.
“We, as a Government, (are) taking care of all Guyanese… We are building more cells at the Haags Bosch, as well as the operational systems we have under the waste management equipment. We will be getting one portable tyre shedder, two stationary compacter bins, two water and air quality testing equipment for landfill, skip bins and skip lift trucks, one truck and 25 skips, 211 litter bins,” Parag explained.
Further, some $1.3 billion has been budgeted to purchase waste management equipment and upgrade landfill sites across the country, including the six new sites created in 2023 and others to be established this year. Parag disclosed that several sites would be closed to facilitate works, which include studies and surveys, and installation of waste management equipment, among other things.
“We will be happy to know that we are not lazy. From day one in 2020, we work very hard, and we are committed again to ensuring that we have waste removal; and so, fourteen more (landfill sites) are on board…it’s studies on the geotechnical and the hydrogeological surveys (that have) to be done, and also for operational and maintenance purposes,” Minister Parag stated.

Haags Bosch closure
On day two of the Consideration of the 2024 Budget Estimates of revenue and expenditure, Public Works Minister Juan Edghill told the National Assembly that the Haags Bosch dumpsite would not be there forever, hinting that it would be closed in the long term. That closure, he explained, would make way for massive construction of new hotels and Government towers/ complexes to be built on the nearby Eccles to Mandela Highway and the Ogle to Haags Bosch road.
“We wouldn’t forever dump garbage at Eccles…we have development in mind,” Edghill said.
At the time responding questions from Opposition Parliamentarian Annette Ferguson, Edghill added that, all over the world, dumpsites – and even in Guyana, cane fields – are being transformed into livable areas.

Landfill site development
Some $1 billion had been allocated in the 2023 budget for solid waste management interventions, while another $885 million had been set aside to upgrade and expand the solid waste management system. The then Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Nigel Dharamlall, had announced that an additional six landfill sites would be established at strategic areas in 2023. Those areas
included Byderabo in Bartica, Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni); Bon Success in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo); Kildonan Village in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); and Kara-Kara in Linden, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice).
The minister had explained to the Committee of Supply that the management of solid waste is one of Guyana’s biggest challenges, and had added that the current disposable sites could not resolve the nationwide issues.
Since assuming office in August 2020, Government has made significant investments to enhance awareness of sanitation practices and solid waste management countrywide. The approach is in keeping with the PPP/C administration’s commitment to promoting integrated sanitation management to safeguard human health and the environment. Already, the Government has held a number of consultations to create a strategic plan to strengthen and develop the country’s solid waste management system.