Private Firm To Build New City Rubbish Dump

Garbage collection company Cin­tri is planning to build a new 50-hectare, $10 million dump site on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, com­pany officials said at a news con­ference Wednesday.

Cintri Managing Director Tep Rithvit said the new site will be up to international standards, with the ability to recycle and process trash into compost and usable gas.

The site currently being used as the municipality’s dump in Mean­chey district is 50 years old and will be filled to capacity in five years, he said.

Tip Rithvit would not disclose the exact location of the new dump site, for fear that people may speculate and raise the value of the land.

However, Seng Chamroeun, Cin­tri’s deputy director, said the 50-hectare site would ei­ther be in Dangkao or Meanchey districts.

Over the lifespan of a 45-year con­tract with the government, Cintri will take 18.2 million tons of waste out of Phnom Penh.

The company currently collects be­tween 950 to 1,000 tons of gar­bage per day, with the annual amount of city refuse expected to increase 10 percent this year.

Cintri also plans to seek partners from  Singapore, Italy, France or Canada, and ex­pects to an­nounce a foreign partner in the next few months.

Phnom Penh Municipality also plans to build a new, separate multimillion dollar garbage dump, ac­cording to Sao Kunchhon, director of waste management for the mu­nicipality.

The Ministry of Finance has already approved money to buy 26 hec­tares of land in Dangkao district for the new site, and the Min­is­try of Environment ap­proved the site in its En­vi­ron­men­t­al Impact As­sessment, he said.

Japan International Cooperation Agency has been studying the new location for the city, Sao Kunchhon said.

“We are now only waiting for the Japan grant aid,” he said.