NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 24 – Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has revived plans to set up a recycling plant at Nairobi’s biggest dump site in Dandora.
The Governor’s ambitious plan is aimed at sorting out the city’s perennial garbage challenge which is chocking estates due to illegal dumping after filling the main dumpsite.
An Expression of Interest (EOI) advert has been posted on the government portal for posting government tenders, inviting those interested in undertaking the project to apply.
“Expression of Interest (EOI) to design, build, finance, maintain and operate and transfer a waste to energy processing plant in Dandora Nairobi,” it reads.
If actualized, garbage dumped at Dandora dump site will be processed to produce power, a move that will see garbage menace eliminated and at the same time producing energy.
Governor Sakaja’s administration is keen to have the plan actualized after failed attempts by previous Governors including Evans Kidero, Mike Sonko, Ann Kananu and most recently the Nairobi Metropolitan Services.
Nairobi generates 3,000 metric tonnes of garbage on a daily basis with most of it going to Dandora dump site and another ends up being illegally dumped.
According to county reports, Dandora dump site holds about 1.8 million tonnes of garbage against a 500,000 tonne capacity, hence explaining the excess overflowing filth.
The Dandora dump site was officially opened in 1975 under World Bank funding and in 2001 it was considered to be full, even though up to date it remains to be Nairobi’s main dump site.
Plans to have an alternative dumping site at the Ruai land fill in 2016 were objected by the Kenya Civil Aviation arguing that it fall within the JKIA flight path.
KCAA cited the Interview Civil Aviation Authority requirements that such a facility should be 13 kilometers from the runway, given that the land fill is 10 kilometers from the country’s main airport.
