Government of Japan hands over a $177k grant for garbage trucks for Kolonia Town
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- Category: News
- Published: Thursday, 08 April 2021 05:12
- Written by Bill Jaynes
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By Bill Jaynes
The Kaselehlie Press
March 18, 2021
Pohnpei—On Thursday, March 18, officials from the Kolonia Town government met with Ambassador of Japan to the FSM Sobashima Hidenobu to formally sign paperwork and receive the commitment of a grant for two new garbage trucks for Kolonia Town. The grant amount is $177,088 which will cover the cost of procurement, shipping, and wharfage.
Ambassador Sobashima described the scope of the project during his speech. He said that in 2011, the Government of Japan donated two garbage trucks to Kolonia Town which then served its residents for nearly a decade. However, both of the trucks have recently broken down and are no longer usable for waste collection.
To cover the service shortfall, the Kolonia Town government has been renting a flat bed truck with a self-contained crane to collect waste but it is not sufficient to the task. Kolonia Town approached the Government of Japan asking if they would be willing to supply two more trucks and the government responded positively.
Ambassador Sobashima said that with the provision of the two new garbage trucks, the frequency of waste collection in Kolonia Town will be able to increase from once every two weeks to once a week which will benefit the 6,000 people living in Kolonia.
“This is in conformity with the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision which aims to
reduce additional pollution by marine plastic litter to zero by 2050 through a comprehensive life-cycle approach announced in the G20 Osaka Leaders’ Declaration in June 2019,” he said.
