SO Engineering, a Sri Lankan company, has been awarded the contract to provide waste management equipment to 22 islands in five atolls.
Environment Minister Aiminath Shauna signed the agreement on behalf of the ministry at a ceremony held at the ministry today, while SO Engineering was represented by its Director, Bandhula Jayaratne. The project is being implemented by the Environment Ministry under its Maldives Clean Environment Project, funded by the World Bank.
Under the agreement, a total of 22 islands in Meemu, Faafu, Dhaalu, Thaa, and Laamu atolls will be provided with waste management equipment that can be used at island level. The items provided include multi-purpose mini balers, single-feed glass bottle crushers, various types of dustbins for waste collection, PPE kits, and other equipment. The project is scheduled to be completed within four months.
The islands to be provided with the equipment are mainly those that already have a waste and resource management center or where the construction of such a center is currently underway or is in the procurement stage.
The Environment Ministry said its vision is to ensure that these islands are capable of sustainable waste and resource management at island level when these projects are completed. The project will also help the islands to bring their waste to the waste and resource management centers under an appropriate system and increase the capacity to bale, reduce volume and store large amounts of metal, plastic, and paper waste until disposal. The machine will also break down waste, such as glass bottles, and use it for other purposes, the ministry said.
“At the same time, the ministry is working with various donors to provide waste management assistance in all residential islands in the Maldives,” the ministry said.
The Environment Ministry has also started procuring vehicles to transport garbage on the islands. As all these items are supplied to the islands, it is the responsibility of the island councils to operate and maintain these equipment properly. The government has now decided to provide financial assistance from the Green Fund to the island councils for this purpose.
