Kathmandu, January 6

The Ministry of Urban Development is preparing to develop blueprint of a structure for dumping non-recyclable waste at Banchare Danda. With this the much-hyped Integrated Solid Waste Management  Project is expected to gain momentum.

The MoUD has taken the initiative to construct a 15-metre tall structure at the landfill site following the Cabinet decision on December 3.

Speaking to The Himalayan Times, joint-secretary at MoUD Krishna Prasad Dawadi said, “Once our plan is approved and if the government provides us with the required budget, we are ready to construct necessary infrastructures at the site.” The ministry has also been asked to construct two bridges and an access road to the project site.

The government had bought 792 ropani land some 28 kilometres from Kathmandu for the project in 2007. ISWMP is a $50 million worth project proposed by IBN to be developed under public-private partnership model to manage waste of Kathmandu valley and end garbage woes for at least next 50 years.

IBN and Nepwaste Pvt Ltd, a Finnish joint venture company, had signed the project development agreement in March. As per the agreement, project developer Nepwaste is required to manage formal and informal workers associated with

solid waste management in Kathmandu within three months after  signing the PDA.

Similarly, apart from collecting waste from Kathmandu valley, Nepwaste also needs to deposit maximum of 20 per cent of the total collected waste at a sanitary landfill site located at Banchare Danda of Nuwakot and recycle the remaining waste to produce various bio-gas and compost fertilisers

The government, however, is yet to finalise the site for constructing waste sorting station at the landfill site.

Kathmandu metropolis had postponed the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Investment Board of Nepal and Nepwaste on November 6 demanding that around 1,100 staffers of KMC working in waste management sector be managed or compensated. KMC has 150  trucks and other equipment used for collecting garbage. KMC has sought management of these equipment also.

Currently, the valley generates 1,000 metric tonnes of waste every day. The collected trash — both degradable and non-degradable — is dumped at Sisdole landfill site in Okarpauwa of Nuwakot, 26-km away from Kathmandu.

The landfill site was initially used as a short-term (two years) landfill site to dump waste from the valley in 2002. Sisdole landfill site has already maxed out on its capacity but there is no alternative plan for managing waste.