Cassandra McKeown, Finance Director and co-founder of Cleared Ground Demining said that the demolition is to get rid of the ERWs , collected during the clearance phase.
Clearance started early in October.
McKeown said there were at least 100 bombs gathered during the clearing of ERWs in Peleliu State.
The demolition will be located at the South Dock and locals hired by the agency to help with the clearance and work on the site.
Cleared Ground Demining is a non-profit organization based in the United Kingdom.
The organization’s work is to reduce the threat of unexploded ordnance in Peleliu and Angaur States.
The ERW or landmines are 65 years old and can still pose a threat to the community, McKeown said.
Though the organization understands that these ERW’s is part of the tourism attraction of Palau. Part of their work is to remove the dangerous parts and still ensure that its historical value is preserved.
McKeown said that unexploded ordances, were those found in the backyards in several Peleliu residents and tourist areas.
Found during the clearance were grenades, projectiles and mortars among others.
She added that clearance will continue after the demolition.
“There is a lot more that needs to be found,” she said.
President Johnson Toribiong will be the one to press the button to demolish the ERWs.
The group has secured funding for the clearance in Palau, and it is hopeful that it will receive more funding to remove as much as threat possible.
The group will start clearance in Angaur in Januart.
McKeown said Palau is a signatory to the Ottawa Landmines Treaty and the country is leading in the Pacific in ridding its nation of the possible threats of ERW.
The group has conducted land mine clearance projects in Southern Lebanon, Jordan, Guinea Bissau, Kosovo, Laos, Libya, Iraq and Eritrea.
