THE access road to the sanitary landfill, at Haags Bosch, East Bank Demerara, that will replace the Mandela Avenue dump in Le Repentir, Georgetown, is 70 per cent complete.

As a result, the actual construction site can be accessed by that route, Deputy Mayor Robert Williams said yesterday.

He told the Guyana Chronicle that the intention is to commence operations at the new location but approval has not yet been given.

The contract for building the roadway was signed last November, with BK International and Puran Brothers and a schedule is in place as to when utilisation of the place will begin this year, Williams said, noting that the responsible steering committee will meet again this month to review the project.

He said it was intended that the undertaking, funded by an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) US$18M loan, should be finished and become operational some time this year.

But Williams said he is unaware of the exact completion date, to start facilitating waste disposal in an environmentally friendly manner, four kilometres South of the city.

It will serve 15 surrounding National Democratic Councils (NDCs) for the possible depositing, too, of health care discards and other hazardous garbage.

Williams said the IDB has been supporting the objective from the inception and is providing the finance under the Georgetown Solid Waste Management Programme.

He disclosed that a German company, Hydroplan has already been identified and is doing the consultancy that will continue over the next two or three years.

The consultants are working in association with the local firm, CEMCO and the necessary works to be done by them have begun, Williams pointed out.

He said arrangements were made for US$1.5M from the loan to create a system for taking care of hazardous waste in this country.

Although the preliminary expectation is January 2010, there has been some variation and the final date will be announced by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, Williams stated.

He assured, though, that there will hardly be any disadvantages to moving the dump and the advantages include a more organised site that will be operated in the most modern way and would be developed according to international technical and environmental standards.

The Mandela landfill was established in 1994 on a 10-acre plot to accommodate refuse primarily from Georgetown, East Coast and East Bank Demerara and some areas on West Bank and West Coast of Demerara.

It should have been closed since 2006 and by August 20, 2008, then Acting Public Relations Officer at City Hall, Ms. Debra Lewis declared it had outlived its usefulness.