Harare City AimsTo Reclaim Lost Glory Through Greening Initiatives

By Wallace Mawire [caption id="attachment_39214" align="alignleft" width="300"] Engineer Phillip Pfukwa[/caption] Once dubbed the “Sunshine City” and yearning to reclaim its lost glory following a decade long economic decline experienced in Zimbabwe, Harare City Council is embarking on greening city project initiatives to attain its former world class city status ranking. Harare City Council Director of Works, Engineer Phillip  Pfukwa told participants at a recent Zimbabwe Energy Council informed dialogue series on the green city concept initiative that the City, the country and Africa are under siege with the environment feeling the strain. Pfukwa said that industries need to develop and co-exist with nature. According to Pfukwa, Harare city is facing problems such as land pressures for residential stands developments and the rural to urban migration, excessive littering in the city by “day trippers”, urban and stream bank agriculture, wetlands destruction, deforestation and indiscriminate tree cutting including inefficient use of energy like electricity, gas, coal, just to mention a few. Pfukwa said that there are three fundamental priorities in urban planning which include, creating green cities, creating growing cities and creating just cities. He added that these are associated with three fundamental conflicts over resources, property and development. “City of Harare recognizes the need for a green city and deliberately strives to provide for parks, active and passive recreational spaces, greenbelts and to preserve wetlands and other ecologically sensitive spaces,” Engineer Pfukwa said. He added that local plans, town planning schemes and layout plans are used to zone and define conservation areas and ensuring that there is a balance amongst the priorities of social equity, economic development and environmental sustainability. Some of the greening initiatives Harare City Council is embarking on under the greening city concept include reviving the mass transit systems It is also reported that City of Harare has adopted integrated development as a planning concept. This entails reduction of the carbon footprint by minimizing use of motorized transit systems as industrial, commercial and recreational uses are mixed/integrated with residential development. “As a result people either have to walk or cycle to shopping, working and recreational facilities that are located within their places of work,” Pfukwa said. Some of the greening initiatives Harare City Council is embarking on under the greening city concept include reviving the mass transit system. According to Pfukwa, where industrial and residential developments are neither compatible nor complimentary, the city has always been aware of the need for mass rapid transit systems. “Unfortunately the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system that minimized the carbon foot print of the City faced viability challenges in the face of severe competition after deregulation of the public transport sector. City of Harare is courting suitable investors into the public transport for an efficient and effective BRT. This should result in modal share and reduce carbon emissions into the atmosphere,” Pfukwa said. The city is promoting the use of non-motorized transit systems. Pfukwa said that the Central Business District (CBD), mainly along First Street and Speke Avenue, has been closed from all motorized traffic “More pedestrian walkways are being considered in the CBD, in order to promote cycling to work. City of Harare will rehabilitate all cycle tracks to ensure safety of cyclists. Most shopping malls in suburbia are planned with generous provisions of pedestrian malls,’ he said. He added that the city also welcomes corporate players who want to partner the City in greening streets and parks as their corporate social contribution to environmental sustainability. “A number of such corporate social responsibility agreements are in place for greening of road islands, road verges and roundabouts,” he added. Some greening initiatives the city is embarking on outlined by Pfukwa include upgrading of 6400 units 250W HPS street lights to less than 100W LED lights by December 2019 under the solar street lighting project. He said that ±960kW have been completed off-grid. The projects are being financed through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) with local and international private companies. On energy efficiency initiatives, Harare city is promoting use of LED lighting with at least 3000 streetlights having been upgraded. The initiative is expected to upgrade 250W HPS to 100W LED by December 2017.The targeted consumption saving is 450KW.The project also aims to complete 2 500 twin fluorescent street lights upgrade of 80W to 40W targeted consumption saving. The city is also implementing the Morton Jeffray Water treatment plant energy efficiency initiatives. The Morton Jeffrey Water Treatment works upgrading initiative, according to Engineer Pfukwa aims to increase treatment capacity from 400 (ML) Mega Litres per day to 704Mega Litres per day. He says that currently the initiative has achieved at least 500Mega Litres per day. The works include pump-sets replacement, clarifiers, filters upgrade and general automation of the plant. “Energy efficiency activities carried out include, PF correction schemes resuscitation, soft-starters, Energy Efficiency rated equipment such as replacements and lighting , waste to energy conversion at waste treatment plants,” Engineer Pfukwa said. The City of Harare and the European Union (EU) are also jointly funding the construction of an 800 cubic metre biogas plant in Mbare high density suburb . It is reported that the biogas digester shall be a CARMATEC type design. The fixed dome digester technology shall be underground, with no moving parts and no heating system. The gas from the digesters shall be used to power a 100kVA electricity generator. Pkukwa said that at least 20 tonnes of waste are generated per day at Mbare Musika most of which is bio-degradable material. He added that they hope to commission the project by September or October 2017.He said that the project will absorb waste material from the market into biogas instead of taking it Pomona and will minimise air pollution. Pfukwa said that the biogas project aims to improve the health and hygiene conditions and to provide improved access to clean, affordable and renewable energy to the Mbare community. He said that the the expected outputs or results in terms of services provided by the project are waste separation being introduced in Mbare Musika market in Harare, a biogas-based waste management system for organic waste and sewage being established, electricity being generated from biogas and being fed into the national electricity grid and a sustainable concept for a biogas-based waste management system, including the use of biogas and biogas sludge being developed as a model for the country. The City of Harare has also identified investment in a Waste-to-Energy plant at Pomona as a major component of the City’s Integrated Municipal Waste Management Plan. The City and the surrounding towns of Chitungwiza, Norton, Ruwa and Epworth generates approximately 1 000 tons per day of waste, according to Engineer Pfukwa. He says that the goal of the project is to develop a waste-to-energy plant using the available modern technology that would absorb all municipal solid waste. He said that prefeasibility studies indicate that power to be produced from the plant is expected to exceed 30MW.The project is to be financed through a PPP and the City is in the process of finalising the selection of the partner to implement the project. Pfukwa said that six companies have expressed interest in the project are bidding through a competitive tender system. He said that at least $80 million is expected to put up the plant and produce electricity. It is also reported that landfills like the Pomona one act like large anaerobic digesters. Substantial volumes of gas form naturally as rubbish and refuse decompose over time. It is also said that if the rubbish is not managed properly, the gasses impact negatively on the environment. It is also said that landfill gas recovery technology has advanced rapidly in the last decade worldwide. Pfukwa added that the project should have been on stream six months back but was stalled by delayed finalisation of the Joint Ventures Act and bureaucracy.He said that the project is expected to be finalised in a year’s time from now.He said that bio-degradable material and plastics should be digested to gas to minimise emissions and pollution from Pomona. Pfukwa also revealed that the City of Harare intends to set up at least a minimum 30MW solar power plant at one multiple use facility in the city. He said that the target is to ensure 25% of the city’s energy mix comes from renewable energy sources. The project is expected to be financed through a PPP. He said that an MOU for the project has been signed and the area for development of the project has been identified. The project will use solar panels to produce electricity and is expected to be on stream in the next six months from now.