Dust from the transportation and heating of materials, wastewater and liquid waste from workers’ washings and toilet use as well as solid waste are some of the types of waste that should be expected from the proposed Asphalt Mixing Plant to be built in Lami.
This was revealed by Environment consultant Epeli Nasome to the 50 Lami residents who attended the public consultations for the proposed Asphalt Mixing Plant to be built in Lami by China Railway No.5 Engineering Group (Fiji) Ltd.
Asphalt is a combination of sand and rock held together by oil.
Nasome is the Director of E. Nasome Environment Consultant Services who is tasked with carrying out the Environment Impact Assessment for the proposed project.
He added it will also involve the use of raw materials such as bitumen which will be heated up.
Nasome says there will also be a lot of noise from the plant operation and heavy vehicles transporting materials.
During the consultation, there was some furious exchange of words as Lami residents raised serious concerns for their health and that of their families with Nasome and China Railway No.5 representative, Nadeem Shah.
The China Railway No.5 Engineering Group (Fiji) Ltd proposes to develop an Asphalt Mixing Plant on part of the Tianjie Cement Factory site in Wailekutu, Lami.
This will comprise of an asphalt Plant production site, silo storage, aggregate bin storage area, site office, weighbridge, and internal access ways.