New operator to manage NP landfill

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Following a lengthy process of reviewing proposals from various companies, the government announced Tuesday that Providence Advisors/Waste Resources Development Group (WRDG) has been chosen to remediate and operate the New Providence City Landfill.

The 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 entities which expressed interest in remediating and operating the landfill.  That number was subsequently narrowed down to three prospects; Bahamas Waste, Bahamas WTP Ltd., and WRDG.

Now that government has crossed this hurdle, WRDG has 30 days to review, agree and respond to the current pending contract, mobilize a technical team to hit the ground running, sure up capital funding for the road ahead, and select its board of directors.

Kenwood Kerr, Providence Advisors President confirmed that the first leg of the project will cost $130 million.

“The operations, remediation and management of the landfill, putting in all the infrastructure to get it done properly, was estimated to be about $47 to $54 million,” he shared.

“Linked to that is the operation of a power plant for renewable energy which is estimated to be in the vicinity of $70 odd million.”

This means that the site will not only manage waste, but it will also utilize it to create renewable energy from its own mini power plant; the largest renewable project to date in the country.

It is pegged as a potentially lucrative stream of income.

“That power plant is a combination of solar and biomass power generation which takes garbage from the landfill, puts it into an incineration process, and creates power that will be transferred onto the grid of Bahama Power and Light (BPL) at a price,” revealed Kerr.

Kerr noted that an international specialist in fire remediation will also be a part of the team to ensure that annoying landfill fires are a thing of the past.

“Fire control expert Dr. Anthony Sparling is bringing his credentials, professionalism and experience to that particular vexing issue as it relates to the landfill,” he shared.

“That is being coupled with other modern engineering applications to prevent any future fires in terms of appropriately lining the cell sites at the dump to avoid future fires.”

Environment minister Romauld Ferreira said the government is confident that WRDG is equipped to handle the job.

“We are certain, based on the technical assessments, that this is the best possible entity to take over the management of the landfill and we have every confidence at this time in their success and ultimately the derived benefits to the Bahamian people,” touted Ferreira.

About Theo Sealy

Theo Sealy is an award-winning journalist who serves as senior broadcast reporter and weekend TV news anchor at Eyewitness News. He has achieved several career milestones, including his work as a field contributor with CNN, his coverage of four consecutive general elections, his production of several docuseries and his Bahamas Press Club Awards win for “Best Television News Story” in 2018.