PONDA: Minister for Waste Management Michael Lobo on Thursday said the biomedical waste generated across the State will be treated in a scientific manner at the Common Biomedical Waste Treatment (CBWT) Plant at Kundaim Industrial Estate.
He was speaking after inspecting the newly-constructed CBWT facility developed under public-private partnership (PPP) model at Kundaim. The Goa Waste Management Corporation has provided 10,000 square metres to concessionaire M/s Biotic Waste Solution Pvt Ltd to operate the facility.
Lobo said, “Goa’s entire biomedical waste generated by hospitals, including GMC and clinics will be treated/incinerated at this facility. The project was statutory requirement as per the Biomedical Waste Management Rules 2016.”
Lobo said, “The project is ready as the machinery has been installed for treatment/incineration of waste. The facility, which will be operated on PPP model, will be inaugurated in October by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.”
“The project was essential as per court directions and guidelines of Biomedical Waste Management Rules 2016. The facility will have state-of-the- art Rotary Kiln Incinerators, autoclave, shredder and ETP as per rules,” he said.
“The plant has the capacity to treat seven tonnes of biomedical waste which will be extended to nine tonnes per day. However, at present the plant is expected to treat around 1.2 tonnes of biomedical waste generated in hospitals and pharmacies across Goa. This includes 600 kg of biomedical waste from the Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim while the rest will be from 2000 clinics, 120 private and government hospitals across the State,” he said.
Expressing happiness over the completion of the project, he said, “Earlier, there was no proper biomedical waste treatment facility in Goa and the waste was buried in pits, burnt in open spaces and dumped along with the garbage. Such waste was found dumped at Sonsoddo. Now, after commissioning the facility, all these issues will be solved. The waste segregated at source after treatment /incineration will be converted into dry powder.”
“The company will operate the plant for 20 years and charge fees from hospitals and clinics in the State. However, the government will decide on the rates depending on bed capacity for hospitals. GMC incinerators will be installed here. In case of breakdown, there will be another incinerator kept standby to ensure continuous operations.”
He said, “The government provided land for the project and Biotic Waste Solutions Pvt Ltd was the lowest bidder. The company has provided 100 per cent finance for the project. The plot size is 10,000 square metres and built up area is 2,300 square metres. The company officials said they incurred a total cost of Rs 10 crore on the project and will charge fees for treating biomedical waste. There will be GPS enabled vehicle tracking and waste tracking system.”
“The company will be responsible for waste collection, transportation, disposal, maintenance and operations. The company has installed 300 kg/hour rotary incinerator system with pollution control system, autoclave, shredder and ETP. The biomedical waste treatment capacity of 28 TPD is being established to ensure future capacity,” he added.
On Bhoma locals voicing their opposition to the project, he said, “There will be no pollution as the project will be equipped with online air monitoring/ pollution control system. We will show Bhoma locals the operations at the plant to clear their doubts.
Manish Grewal, Director of Biotic Waste Solutions Pvt Ltd Goa, doctors and government officials were present.