Holcim sets up waste management plant
by Mohammed Naalir
Sri Lankans dispose off 6,700 metric tons of solid waste daily. Only
2,700 metric tons of waste are collected.
Nearly two-thirds of the waste is not collected, said Minister of
Environment and Renewable Energy, Susil Premjayantha, at the launch of
the Municipal Solid Waste Management plant at Seeduwa, a private-public
partnership of Geo-cycle, the waste management arm of Holcim Lanka Ltd
and the Katunayake-Seeduwa Urban Council."We have already achieved the
millennium development goals set by the United Nations.
We have achieved primary education targets. One hundred percent of
our children receive primary education. More than 85 percent have
completed their junior secondary education on par with developed
countries.
We have maintained a GDP growth of 7.5 percent for the past four
years," Minister Premjayantha said.
He said that the Government is investing heavily to improve
infrastructure facilities.The Minister said he introduced the solid
waste management program in 1996 when he was the Chief Minister of the
Western Province, 17 years ago. Now attention has been focused on the
Katunayake-Seeduwa Urban Council area.
He said that Gampaha is becoming a populated district. According to
the electoral register of 2012, the Gampaha district has overtaken the
Colombo district populationwise. Many development projects have been
introduced in the Gampaha district including road network,
telecommunication, improving facilities of schools and hospitals and
developing market places, he said.Katunayake-Seeduwa is a difficult
urban council area because it represents many sectors such as the
Katunayake International Airport and Free Trade Zone. Several industries
are also emerging in this area, the Minister said.
"There are 8,200 houses in the area. Over 50,000 people work in the
Free Trade Zones reside in the Urban Council area. Due to this the
population has increased. You have selected a difficult Urban Council
area to implement the pilot project," the Minister said.
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