The signs are clear and visible that the over 60-year-old closed dump facility of the city is turning to become an ecological park.

Aileen Refuerzo, chief of the city information office, on Friday said the Irisan dumpsite-turned-eco-park is being eyed as the city’s newest attraction with works being done to prepare it for visitors.

The stinky odor emitted by the tons of garbage that accumulated over decades has been eradicated, giving relief to the noses and lungs of the residents in the city’s biggest and vote-rich barangay.

“At present, it is showing a lot of promise and has the potential to become part of our attractions in the city,” said City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.

He said that still to be done and part of the improvement work in the area is the construction of a sewerage treatment plant to address the leachate problem.

“It is still a long way to go but we are happy with the transformation,” the mayor said.

In 2011, the Supreme Court issued a Writ of Kalikasan after an avalanche of garbage at the height of Typhoon Mina left six people dead.

In 2008, the city government has already stopped using the area as an open dumpsite but the mountain of garbage remained, which rolled down during the typhoon in 2011.

Magalong earlier said that turning the decommissioned dumpsite into an ecological park is a long-term solution to the condition of the area.

The project to transform the former Irisan open dumpsite into a park costs more than PHP17 million.

At present, greenery on terraces can be seen with recyclables utilized as planting materials along available areas.

Magalong said they are hoping that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will help Baguio in convincing the Supreme Court to lift the Writ of Kalikasan over the five-hectare former dump facility.