Pre-Feasibility Study Begins on Solid Waste Management Programme

A pre-feasibility study has begun on the divestment of the commercial activities of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA).

This was announced by Chairman of the Enterprise Team overseeing the divestment process, Mr. Lyttleton Shirley, who was appointed chairman of the Enterprise Team in November 2016. He was speaking last Friday after a tour of the Riverton City Disposal Site in St. Andrew.

Mr. Shirley revealed that a consultant has been engaged through funding from the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF). The PPIAF is a trust fund administered by the World Bank, to prepare a pre-feasibility study report on an Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS) for Jamaica.

The study will feature options for public-private partnerships (PPPs), potential changes in regulations to achieve an ISWMS and an implementation plan which will guide the Enterprise Team in undertaking the PPP Procurement. The final pre-feasibility report is expected to be completed in July 2017.

The Government of Jamaica (GOJ), through the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, is seeking to develop a comprehensive solid waste management (SWM) programme, which would over time allow the NSWMA to focus on being a regulator rather than an operator.

The SWM programme will provide opportunities for private sector investments, via PPPs, to enhance the overall SWM service quality. The reformed SWM programme will give consideration to maximizing waste collection, waste sorting, recycling, waste to energy, recovery and reduction of waste going to landfills; moving gradually to minimum waste, while safeguarding the socio-economic needs of citizens in the surrounding communities and improving the quality of life and public health in general.

The Enterprise Team is being supported by the Development Bank of Jamaica as transaction managers and Secretariat.

February 28, 2017

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Contact: Claudette White

Manager, Communication & Marketing, DBJ

Tel. 929-4000

cwhite@dbankjm.com