Project title:

ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE AUDIT FOR A COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT (T/A-BEST WESTERN PLUS -THE ATHENA HOTEL) ON PLOT 21 ALONG FARADY ROAD IN BUGOLOBI BANGALOWS I ZONE ‘C’, BUGOLOBI PARISH NAKAWA DIVISION KAMPALA

Client:

Best Western Plus

Project Type:

Environmental Compliance Audit

Sector:

The Built Environment

Detailed description of the project;

Services Offered;

Athena Investments Limited owns and operates a fashionable and sophisticated town hotel at its commercial property comprised in Plot 21 along Farady road in the residential suburb of Bugolobi.  The development sits into a high-class neighbourhood and integrates well in terms of height, quality, traffic management and sustainability in line with the existing laws.

Its main objective is to address high-quality demand for residential accommodation for temporary visitors to the neighbourhood and is set to provide employment and contribute to the millennium development goals and increased access to social amenities for the residents and the neighbouring townships.

Other objectives include:

i)To develop and diversify the tourism products and services

ii)To develop tourism infrastructure and facilities

iii)To promote and market the destination in national, regional and international markets.

In order to achieve their set objectives, Athena contracted Gissat to conduct an Environmental audit for their facility.  The main objective of the audit was to comply with the National Environment Act regulations that compel the operator to submit annual reports and conduct ECAs containing among others the following operational information:

i)Discharges and emissions;

ii)Incidents resulting in environmental impacts;

iii)Resource use, including chemicals, water and natural biomass;

iv)Environmental monitoring;

v)Waste management, including types and quantities of waste generated; and

vi)Compliance with the Act and non-compliance and corrective action take.

In August 2021, Gissat conducted an environmental audit. The scope of work included site intrusive investigations to test for any operational non-conformances, possible pollution sources, contamination originating from the current hotel operations and identification for potential pathways and receptors for any migrant contaminants. Others in line with the requirements of the National Environmental Management Authority included auditing for compliance to local legislation, general social impact assessment and health and risk assessment. This helped to understand the project components and ongoing activities at the resort.  The areas where Gissat put emphasis during the audit included, among others;

a)Air and Noise pollution

b)Water pollution Control

c)Occupational Health and Safety

d)Wastewater management