Environment Ministry lifts Prohibition Notice on Tengy Cement

The Ministry of Waterways and Environment has lifted the Prohibition Notice for Lami based cement company, Tengy Cement Fiji however strict monitoring continues this week while the notice still remains for Pacific Cement Limited.

Lami resident, Sydel Whippy says residents are asking what is being done to ensure that the issue does not arise again.

She says they want to know what is being done by the factories to mitigate the problem.

Whippy is also enquiring if the companies have provided mitigation plans as requested in August 2020.

We have asked the Ministry and they are yet to respond.

The Ministry had earlier issued the notice to the two companies as they had suspected that the dust emitted from the operations may not be of national air quality standards.

A two week trial period allowing for the regular monitoring of emission levels began on the 2nd of April.

Permanent Secretary Joshua Wycliffe says their technical team has reviewed the readings from the tests from both factories over the last week.

He says while some of the issues have been fixed, the Department would like to extend the technical monitoring for this week as well. Tengy Cement Deputy General Manager, Tomas Choi says they have complied with the Ministry’s requirements and they resumed operations yesterday.

The Deputy General Manager says they have been working with General Machinery, the company responsible for transporting material for the Suva Wharf to their Lami factory and says they are ensuring that the emission is reduced.

Choi adds that the material is being covered with tarpaulin when it is transported in trucks and they are also spraying the road with water after their trucks have passed to ensure that the dust is reduced.

He says they have been meeting the Environment Monitoring Committee monthly which comprises of the residents and Ministry officials every month however, another meeting date has yet to be confirmed as it is hosted by the Pacific Cement.

Pacific Cement is yet to respond to our questions.