Two landfills in Kedah to be upgraded to WTE plant - Zuraida

Two landfills in Kedah will be upgraded to waste-to-energy (WTE) plants, that are expected to solve the rubbish and solid waste management problems in the state, says Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin.

She said the proposed landfills were in Semerling, Sungai Petani and Jabi, Pokok Sena, in which the upgrading would include facilities such as an incinerator system, biomass plant, composting facility and others that could harness energy from wastes.

"It is about time that Kedah has WTE plants with incinerator systems that could be built as soon as possible, because the Semerling landfill is already in a critical condition," she told a press conference after a meeting with Kedah Menteri Besar, Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor in his office here, today.

She said two WTE plants were sufficient for the state and the landfills would then be cleared to be turned into recreational parks.

According to Zuraida, the plants construction would not involve allocation from the federal or the state government, instead, it would be funded by a private finance initiative (PFI).

She said it would take one and a half years to build a WTE, excluding time for approval and other matters, including land acquisition.

Besides that Zuraida said her ministry was also planning to build an integrated 'waste park' in Kulim Hi-Tech Industrial Park to manage industrial wastes from factories there and subsequently prevent illegal dumping.

Meanwhile, as part of the 12th Malaysia Plan, Zuraida said that .two people's housing projects (PPR) would be developed in Kodiang and Jitra, in the Kubang Pasu district, involving 500 terrace houses and 159 apartment units, with estimated cost of RM128 million.

-- BERNAMA