Japan provides $4.7m for better sanitation in Islamabad

Japan on Tuesday extended grant assistance worth $4.7 million (500 million Yen) to the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) for improving the sanitary environment of the federal capital.

The money will be used to procure garbage disposal vehicles from Japan.

In this regard, notes were signed and exchanged between Japanese Ambassador Kuninori Matsuda and Ministry of Economic Affairs Secretary Dr Noor Ahmad, in Islamabad on Tuesday.

The federal capital generates around 550-600 tonnes of solid waste per day, of which around 60 per cent is household garbage. The IMC is responsible for collecting this garbage but faces difficulty in collecting it because of a shortage and ageing deterioration of its garbage disposal vehicles.

Hence, under the programme, Japan will provide special vehicles such as garbage compactors, skip lifting vehicles and sewer jet sucking machines.

Japanese Ambassador Matsuda said that keeping the living environment clean is essential for protecting people from infectious diseases.

“In Japan, schoolchildren clean their classrooms by themselves every day. Each family separates recyclables from the rest,” he said, adding, “Local governments collect garbage at a fixed time on a fixed day. The accumulation of such small efforts of people and government helps to keep our living environment clean.”

“I firmly believe that the combination of personal hygiene including washing hands with clean water and improving public health leads to the prevention of infectious diseases,” he said, noting that Japan places a priority on the water and sanitation, health, education and disaster prevention sectors and will continue to support Pakistan in its effort to improve people’s livelihood.

This grant assistance, he hoped, will help to improve the sanitary environment and aid with the beautification of Islamabad.

It is also expected that the index of solid waste management, which is one of the five indexes of the “Clean Green Pakistan”, advocated by Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government, will be improved.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 9^th, 2020.