President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned the evacuation of accumulated waste from Agbogbloshie in Accra to the Adepa Engineered Landfill Site near Nsawam in the Eastern Region.

The exercise, commissioned on Friday, September 18, forms part of the government’s National Emergency Waste Evacuation Exercise aimed at addressing major sanitation and waste-management challenges across the country.

The Agbogbloshie operation is expected to remove approximately one million tonnes of accumulated waste over a period of 90 days. The estimate is based on a drone-assisted artificial intelligence assessment of the waste heap.

The exercise is being led by the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs in collaboration with the Ghana Armed Forces and the District Road Improvement Programme (DRIP). Funding is being provided by the Ministry of Finance, with additional support from the District Assemblies Common Fund.

Heavy-duty equipment, including tipper trucks, excavators, bulldozers and wheel loaders acquired under DRIP, is being deployed to excavate, load and transport the waste from Agbogbloshie to the engineered landfill at Adepa.

The Ghana Armed Forces, particularly the 48 Engineers Regiment, is also providing operational and engineering support for the exercise. President Mahama said the military’s involvement forms part of a broader approach to using its capabilities not only for security operations but also for emergency and national development interventions.

The waste will be transported over a distance of approximately 42 kilometres to the Adepa site, where it will undergo controlled disposal, compaction and covering under environmental safeguards.

President Mahama stressed the need for every stage of the operation from excavation and loading to transportation and final disposal to be handled carefully to protect residents, road users and communities along the haulage route.

Major haulage operations are expected to take place at night to reduce disruption and facilitate the movement of the large volumes of waste, with some evacuation continuing during the day.

The President also said the exercise is intended to address the long-standing health and environmental concerns associated with accumulated waste, open dumping and burning in the Agbogbloshie area.

Beyond the immediate evacuation, government plans to transform the reclaimed area under the proposed Agbogbloshie Urban Renewal Project. President Mahama said the government intends to develop an industrial park and establish a major textile factory on the reclaimed land as part of plans to create employment opportunities.

President Mahama has also directed that measures be put in place to prevent the site from becoming a dumping ground again after the evacuation. He said the long-term success of the exercise would depend not only on removing the existing waste but also on protecting the cleared area from renewed dumping.

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