Medical waste facility put on hold

The construction of a new modern Health Care Risk Waste (HCRW) facility has been put on hold by the City of Windhoek. According to Chris Ailonga of Matrix Consulting Services the City is having second thoughts about building the facility because the proposed site is too small to accommodate the entire facility. A new and larger area will have to be identified before the project can continue.
The full project comprises a Health Care Risk Waste dumping area, a new fuel depot with a total fuel capacity of 78,000 litres and offices. The waste facility will process medical waste from hospitals in Rehoboth, Okahanja and Windhoek. It is also intended that the same service be made available to private hospitals and clinics as well as serving as a back up for other medical centres, as and when required.
The facility was intended to be located near the Namibia Traffic Information System (NATIS) centre in the Northern Industrial Area of Windhoek. In a previous discussion with Ailonga he stated that an Environmental Impact Assessment Study was to be conducted to assess the impact that the project would have on the environment and surrounding buildings.
In an interview with the Economist this week, Ailonga confirmed that the assessment was done and engineers were roped in to the project but decided they can not go ahead because the area is not suitable for the construction of the whole facility. He confirmed that for now the project is on hold, and that Matrix Consulting Services is awaiting feedback from the City of Windhoek when and where planning for the project can go ahead.