Speed up work on waste-to-energy project, order ministers

Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh and Sindh Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah issued directives on Friday to expedite work on the project to generate electricity from waste in Karachi and sought a final policy report for the purpose within two weeks. The ministers issued these directives while presiding over a meeting, where they were informed that approximately 8,000 tonnes of waste was being produced in Karachi daily, and this amount could be used for generating up to 200 megawatts of electricity.

Addressing the meeting, the Sindh local government minister noted that the project, once launched, would not just contribute to improving the city's environment, but would also serve as a means to generate electricity in an environment friendly way. "Work on project should be sped up and a final policy report should be prepared for submission to the Sindh chief minister at the earliest," he stressed. For this purpose, the ministers constituted a committee headed by the local government secretary Najam Shah. Moreover, the provincial energy minister said that the project is to be implemented as soon as possible, so that Sindh emerges as the first province in the country to have executed an environment friendly scheme for electricity production.

The meeting was informed that a landfill site was the most suitable location for the project's execution and that some companies had expressed interest in the project. Besides, the ministers directed the participants of the meeting that after an electricity generation was up and running in Karachi, the project be expanded to other cities of the province.

Effluent treatment plant

Separately, adviser to the Sindh chief minister on law, environment, climate change and coastal development Murtaza wahab proposed to convert the combined effluent treatment plant for leather factories in Korangi Industrial Area to solar power. "It will not just save electricity, but will also significantly reduce the cost of the treatment of per gallon of water," explained Wahab, who was visiting the green belt in Korangi Industrial Area with the members of the Pakistan Tanners Association to partake in a tree plantation initiative. He said the reduction in the cost of treating wastewater would cut down the overall cost of leather products, leading to an increase in their sales in the international market, as well as an increase in the national revenue. Pointing out the need to enhance the capacity of the treatment plant, Wahab said doing so would ensure that the fixed cost for treating wastewater in larger quantities would remain the same. "It would significantly reduce the environment cost of treating wastewater for industries, and will eventually benefit consumers," opined Wahab.