Industrialists demand effluent treatment plants

Absence of plants harms industrial activities, causes civic problems

KARACHI: Industrialists of the economic hub of the country have called for setting up five combined effluent treatment plants - one each at the five industrial zones in the city - besides completing at the earliest the mega combined effluent treatment plant S-3.

The S-3 project is estimated to cost Rs13 billion, which the Sindh and federal governments will share equally. The much-needed project was pending because of scarcity of funds, decried industrialists and exporters of Karachi.

Talking to APP on Tuesday, SITE Association of Industry former chairman Muhammad Javed Bilwani and Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry former vice president Gulzar Feroz aired concern that the absence of combined effluent treatment plants was hampering industrial activities, causing civic problems and damaging marine life.

Bilwani noted that it was very difficult for the industrial units to set up effluent treatment plants themselves as most of them had no space within their premises.

Highlighting benefits of the combined effluent treatment plant, he said the industries would be able to treat surplus chemical for further use. Hence, used water and even sewerage water could be recycled and made reusable for industrial activities and other purposes.

He said the industrialists were asking the city and Sindh governments to catch hold of the solid and liquid waste before its flow into the sea. The industries would benefit a lot from the completion of the S-3 project and it would also help to comply with the GSP Plus conditions, he said.

Gulzar Feroz, who had been engaged in efforts to tackle industrial pollution, emphasised the need for setting up one combined effluent treatment plant for each of the five industrial estates in the city.

He claimed that international agencies such as the Global Environment Fund, United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) and US Agency for International Development were ready to finance the plants.

Meanwhile, a commission constituted by the Supreme Court to look at water issues in Karachi expressed concern over reports about industrial liquid waste flowing into the Malir River.

It ordered an investigation by a session judge as drinking water was being supplied to certain areas of Karachi from the Malir River.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2017.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.