JEDDAH, 8 June 2005 — A plan to transform the municipal garbage dump in northeastern Jeddah into a public garden, golf course and recreation area has begun.
The existing dump will be relocated to a new site seven kilometers east of the current Breman site after repeated complaints by local residents, according to Ahmad Al-Ghamdi, deputy manager of public relations at Jeddah Municipality.
The new site should reduce the possibility of health hazards caused by the dumping area.
Underground water, polluted by run-off from the existing dump, will be extracted and trucked to disposal sites determined by the municipality.
Municipal and Rural Affairs Minister Prince Miteb signed a SR27 million contract with a private company to dispose of the foul water. The contract includes operating and closing the current location located east of Jeddah-Makkah Expressway.
The location will be closed for one year from the time the contract is signed for the operation to be carried out. The current location will be leveled to reduce the effect of rain and lay the base for the conversion of the ground to public garden and tennis courts. The company will also tap off the underground gas generated by rotting organic garbage and dispose of it.
To anticipate potential problems caused by collapse of the land surface into the dump, the contract includes monitoring land remedial measures should a cave-in occur.
Al-Ghamdi explained that a concrete retaining wall would be built around the new location with scales and control room, in addition to special roads inside to reach emptying points and to ease the moving of trucks disposing of refuse.
Special impermeable barriers will be laid underneath the new site to prevent liquid leaking from the decaying refuse from reaching aquifers.