NASSAU, BAHAMAS – After being plagued by countless fires and no solution to permanently rectify the situation, many are hoping that there would be some resolve after the government officially handed over the keys of the New Providence Landfill to Providence Advisors and the Waste Resources Development Group (WRDG) on Friday, April 12.
Back in February, 2019, the government signed an agreement with New Providence Ecology Park (NPEP), which comprises of WRDG and Providence Advisors, for a $45 million multi-phased redevelopment of the New Providence Landfill.
On Friday, NPEP Chairman Kenwood Kerr said work has already begun to improve the area.
“You would note that we segregated various types of waste, tires, metals, plastics and other trash materials. Our first phase of cover and compaction is nearly 80 percent complete,” Kerr said.
“This EPA approved standard of cap and cover significantly reduces the risk of fire and increases the manageability of a fire should one occur.
“Scrap metal, tires, and septic emergency management projects have also commenced and are underway.”
Housing and Environment Minister Romauld Ferreira said that this public-private partnership is an important occasion for the public and that this will solve many of the concerns that has plagued nearby communities.
“We executed the public-private partnership with Providence Advisors and the WRDG Group. They are on-site and you can see the buzz going on. You can see the new energy, creativity and ideas, and all of that is being brought to bear in resolving a long-standing issue that was a central thrust of the Minnis administration which was to resolve this issue at the landfill,” Ferreira said.
The landfill site was previously managed by Renew Bahamas (RB), which was hand selected by the Christie-led administration amidst widespread controversy. The company went belly-up in 2016 and operations at the landfill came to a halt.
Two years later, the Minnis-led administration received bids from 18 companies expressing an interest in remediating and operating the landfill. That number was subsequently narrowed down to three prospects: Bahamas Waste, Bahamas WTP Ltd. and WRDG.
