Sanitary landfill to rise in Carmen through joint venture deal

IF EVERYTHING goes as planned, northern towns in the fourth and fifth congressional districts of Cebu Province may soon have a sanitary landfill.

In an interview on Tuesday, March 26, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) Chief Rodel Bontuyan said the proposed facility in the northern town of Carmen is expected to be operational next year.

“The public-private partnership (PPP) selection committee has already met since there was no challenger to the private proponent. The selection committee came up with a resolution that was approved and endorsed by Gov. Hilario Davide III to the Provincial Board (PB) so it can authorize him to enter into a joint-venture agreement ( JVA),” Bontuyan said in Cebuano.

Current situation

Ten hectares of the Capitol’s 18-hectare property in Barangay Dawis Sur will be used as the landfill for the next decade, he said.

In addition to this, the Municipality of Carmen will donate three hectares for the project.

In a 2016 report, only six of Cebu’s 51 component cities and towns operated a sanitary landfill, according to records from the Penro. These are Talisay City and the towns of Asturias, Balamban, Consolacion, Cordova and Dalaguete.

With no sanitary landfill, some local government units (LGUs) resort to dumping their trash in commercial facilities like the private landfill in Consolacion operated by Asian Energy Systems Corp.

But with the construction of a landfill in Carmen, Bontuyan said LGUs can improve their solid waste management program.

The tipping fee at the Carmen landfill will be P700 per ton.

Based on the proposed agreement, 25 percent of the revenues will go to the Capitol, while the developer will keep the remainder, Bontuyan said.

In 2017, the LGUs under Cebu Province produced 1.2 million kilograms of trash daily.

Manila proponent

“Although the project already has an environmental compliance certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the PB still needs to hold a public hearing on the matter before it can proceed with the project. This is part of the requirement of the PPP ordinance. After that, the PB can come up with a resolution allowing the government to enter into a JVA with the private proponent. Work on the project can start as soon as the agreement is signed,” Bontuyan said in Cebuano.

The construction of the facility is expected to take six months to one year.

Bontuyan said Basic Environmental Systems Technology, a Manila-based firm and the largest sanitary landfill operator in the country, is the interested proponent of the project.