Quick solution sought for Koshi to avoid rubbish piling up on streets

The state is aiming for a quick-fix solution to the Koshi municipal waste deadline and will launch an open tender, as studies warned the current site is set to overflow by November.

Officials on Monday held an extraordinary meeting at the presidential palace aimed at finding a solution to the overstuffed treatment plant which services waste from Larnaca, Famagusta and Nicosia.

Of the two options on the table, they settled for a middle of the road approach – one which is aimed at settling the issue in the short-term and avoid rubbish piling up on the streets.

A study has shown that the volume of waste covered at the treatment facility so far comes to 1,245,500 cubic metres – close to the maximum capacity of 1,450,000 cubic metres.

It has also been ascertained that only very limited expansion works to the current facility are possible, and would not definitively resolve the issue.

As such, the relevant government departments have come up with two scenarios. Under the first, the government would cut corners with a no-bid contract assigned for the construction of a smaller treatment plant, to operate for about a year until it reaches capacity. This quick-fix solution would cost some €3m. In the interim, an open competition would be launched for a new facility, replacing the current contractors.

Agriculture Minister Costas Kadis announced after the meeting, urgently convened by President Nicos Anastasiades, that an open tender will be launched, but with summary procedures.

Kadis stressed that the process will be transparent and legitimate, but one which will ensure the implementation of the project within the next few months.

A decision will be taken in a few days, he said.

Attending the meeting was Kadis, the attorney-general, the auditor-general, the head of the Environment Department, and the head of the Council for the Exploitation of Sites or Utilisation of Domestic Waste for Larnaca and Famagusta districts.

Under the second scenario, a contract would be awarded for an entirely new site on a 10-year basis. The cost in this case is estimated at €6 million.

Building a new facility from scratch would take at least a year, according to reports. It would also require an environmental impact study.

The Koshi plant has been operating for around 13 years. The concession to the contractors expired in June 2021, but a two-year extension was granted.

The Koshi facility converts waste to compost.