Eda Ranu gives pond new life

By LUKE KAMA
PORT Moresby’s water supply and sewerage services provider Eda Ranu has dislodged waste sludge from one of its old stabilisation ponds at Morata and recommissioned it for use lat the cost of K300,000.
Eda Ranu managing-director Henry Mokono said the waste stabilisation pond was built in the early 1960s to cater for about 100,000 people.
“The population of Port Moresby has increased rapidly over the years,” he said.
“The capacity of these waste stabilisation ponds at Morata, Waigani and Gerehu is not enough to cater for the increasing amount of waste that is currently being produced by city residents.
“The pond removed waste sludge. It was upgraded to cater for the wastes of some 100,000 people living at the University of PNG, June Valley, Tokarara, Waigani and other parts of the city back then.
“When you look at our current population in the city, the actual number would have reached close to a million people.
“There is a huge challenge for us to increase the capacity of our
waste stabilisation pond to cater for that.
“The upgrade and commissioning of Morata waste stabilisation pond is indeed a milestone achievement for Eda Ranu.”
Mokono said the waste stabilisation ponds at Morata,
Waigani and Gerehu cater for about three-quarters of Port Moresby’s sewage.
Eda Ranu engineering manager Paul Ambane, who initiated and drove this project when he was sewerage operations manager, commended Mokono and the board and senior management team for their vision and foresight.
“This project was on the planning and drawing board of Eda Ranu for a very long time,” he said.
“There was no will and ambition from the senior management to drive this project back then until Mokono came in.”