Four locomotives imported to transport waste by train to Aruwakkalu:
94 containers, 17 railway carriages purchased for waste transport :
A senior Urban Development and Housing Ministry official stated that all necessary steps have been taken to transport solid waste collected from the Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara districts to the landfill constructed in Aruwakkalu in Puttalam starting from August.
The official mentioned that the objections that had arisen regarding this project have now been resolved through discussions with the relevant parties.
Colombo Waste Management Project Director Sarath Bandara stated that the construction work on the solid waste management project in Wanawasala from where solid waste will be transported to Aruwakkalu, has been completed and operations will commence by August.
The preliminary trials of the project have already begun from May. The project began in 2014 with the aim of addressing the growing issue of urban solid waste disposal by using abandoned limestone quarries in the Aruwakkalu area for safe landfill and waste treatment facilities.
The Urban Development and Housing Ministry was tasked with constructing the necessary facilities, including sanitary landfills and waste treatment systems, using the abandoned quarries in Puttalam.
Two waste transfer stations are being constructed at Wanawasala and Puttalam, along with the required railway infrastructure and road systems.
The initial plan was to transport 1,200 metric tonnes of waste generated in the Colombo metropolitan area to the Wanawasala transfer station, where it would be compressed, containerised and transported by train to Aruwakkalu for safe disposal. Now, facilities have been improved to handle all waste from the Western Provincial Council.
The total cost of the project is US$ 130 million. Four locomotives have been imported to transport the waste by train from the Kelaniya transfer station to the Aruwakkalu transfer station. Until the project’s operations commence, these engines have been given to Railways Department for passenger transport. Additionally, 94 containers have been purchased for waste transportation, and 17 railway carriages have been refurbished for the journey from Kelaniya to Aruwakkalu.