The Maputo City Council has launched a tender to close the largest open-air landfill in Mozambique, an operation costing almost 10 million euros and which includes a plan to reuse tons of waste.
"We have received many expressions of interest from private and foreign companies that say they have experience and the capacity to implement projects of this nature (...). It is a process that takes time, and at this stage of the tender alone, we are giving companies 90 days to prepare their proposals", João Munguambe, councilor for Infrastructure and Health at the Maputo City Council, told Lusa.
Since the incident in 2018, when 16 people died at the site following the collapse of part of the landfill, the municipal authorities have been receiving various forms of support for waste management, but there is still no scheduled date for the actual closure.
"Closing the landfill is a process and involves a series of activities that will take place to close the landfill. We will cover the landfill with soil," explained João Munguambe.
It is estimated that more than 1,200 tons of solid waste are deposited daily in the 25 hectares of the largest landfill in Mozambique, located in Hulene, in the suburbs of Maputo, along one of the capital's main arteries, Julius Nyerere Avenue.
As part of the closure plan, municipal authorities will evaluate proposals that include the use of the more than 35 million tons of waste that are on site, with the possibility of producing gas.
"There is organic matter there that, when decomposed, produces gas. So, by covering the waste with soil, which will naturally allow vegetation to grow and the waste to consolidate, this will produce more gas. Therefore, we will install a gas drainage system that can be used," he added.
The largest rubbish dump in the Mozambican capital made international news when, in the early hours of 19 February 2018, a section of the rubbish dump, the height of a three-storey building, collapsed due to heavy rain and fell on several precarious houses in the neighborhood.
Of the 16 people who died at the site, seven were children, in an incident that sparked debate among environmentalists about the impact of the dump, the largest in the country, in a residential area.
