President John Dramani Mahama on Friday, September 18, 2026, commissioned the evacuation of waste heaps from Agbogloshie in Accra to the Adepa Engineered Landfill Sites near Nsawam in the Eastern Region.
The evacuation is to facilitate the establishment of an industrial park at Agbogloshie in order to create jobs for the teeming unemployed youth of the country.
The initiative is being carried out by the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs in collaboration with the Ghana Armed Forces and the District Road Improvement Project (DRIP), with funding support from the Ministry of Finance and the District Assemblies Common Fund.
A drone AI estimate and assessment of the garbage to be moved puts tonnage of the garbage at one million tonnes.
The entire operation is expected to be completed within 90 days.
In his remarks, the President noted that for more than two decades, Agbogloshie has stood as a painful reminder of the scale of their sanitation challenges and the consequences of allowing it to exist.
“Here, in the heart of our capital, our accumulated waste, discarded plastics, electronic equipment, and other waste have formed a mountain that threatens public health, degrades the environment and undermines the dignity of the surrounding communities,” he stated.
President Mahama said for the people of old Fadama, Agbogloshie, Abossey Okai, and neighbouring areas, this, was a daily risk to their health, adding that it affects the air they breathe, the conditions in which the work and the environment in which their children grow.
“Waste enters the Odaw River and the Korle Lagoon. It obstructs our drainage system and worsens the risks of flooding, with devastating consequences for lives, homes and livelihoods,” the President said.
He added: “We cannot build a clean, safe and resilient capital that we desire while we allow such a situation to continue, and so, today, we are taking decisive action.”
President Mahama said he was pleased to commence the evacuation of the accumulated waste at Agbogloshie waste to the Adepa Engineered Landfill Sites.
He noted that the exercise marks an important step in their determination to restore order, improve sanitation, reclaim our city, for the people who live and work in them.
The President said what they were beginning today was significant for three main reasons.
He said first, they were putting their own capacity to work.
“We are deploying heavy equipment which was secured under the District Road
Improvement Programme (DRIP), including tipper tracks, excavators, bulldozers, and wheel loaders to confront this longstanding national challenge,” he said.
He noted that secondly, the exercise demonstrates what they could achieve through coordinated efforts across government.
He said aid the Ministry of Finance was providing the funding with additional support from the District Assemblies Common Fund, the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftancy and Religious Affairs was leading the exercise with operational and engineering support from the Ghana Armed Forces, particularly the 48 Engineers Regiment, who had recently achieved national acclaim on clearing the Accra-Kumasi Expressway.
“We are now mobilising them to clear Agbogloshie, after that I have a lot of work for them. They have more tasks. Soldiers are not only going to go to war. They are going to be used for emergency operations,” he stated.
Thirdly, the President said the exercise forms part of a broader programme to transform this area.
He said their objective was to remove a longstanding public health hazard and create conditions for lasting improvements; stating that clearing the site would make way for their proposed Agbogloshie Urban Land Renewal Project.
“When we have cleared this garbage, the land that will be reclaimed and recovered is going to be an Industrial Park,” the President said.
“We intend to establish a major textile factory here so that they can provide employment to our young people.”
He said the operation would bring to an end the open dumping and burning that had endangered lives and damage the surrounding environment for far too long.
The President said the evacuated waste would be transported to the Adepa Engineered Landfill for control, disposal, compaction, and covering with appropriate environmental safeguard.
He said the entire operation from evacuation, excavation, loading, transportation, and final disposal must be managed responsibly.
“We must protect the waste as the residents, road users, and the communities along the haulage routes. And that is why we are suggesting that the major haulage must take place at night in accordance with our 24-Hour Economy Initiative,” the President said.
“In the daytime, there will be some evacuation of garbage but at the lower scale, and then in the night we go to full capacity.”
To the people of Old Fadama and Agbogloshie, the President said the operation was being undertaken for their health, their dignity and their children’s future.
He therefore asked them to cooperate with the military personnel, the DRIP operators, and assembly teams as they carried out this demanding work in the coming weeks.
President Mahama commended Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs; Dr Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, the Minister of Finance; Mr Kwami Governs Agbodza, the Minister for Roads and Highways; and Dr John Jinapor, the Minister for Energy and Green Transition, for advancing an approach that makes effective use of equipment and institutions that we already have at their disposal.
He said the proposal they presented was straightforward: mobilise the DRIP equipment, bring the assemblies together, and provide the resources necessary to get the work done.
“This is the kind of practical thinking that our Reset Agenda demands,” President said.
GNA
