Solid waste management project: Three Turkish firms get the nod

Bidding for the contract to take place on Jan 17, sanitation staff to be retained.

RAWALPINDI:

Three Turkish companies have gotten the nod from city district government (CDGR) to take part in the bidding for a solid waste management project in Rawalpindi. The bidding would take place on January 17 next year, according to officials.

Following the “Lahore model”, the Punjab government has decided to outsource waste management in four other cities of the province, namely Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Multan.

District Coordinator Officer (DCO) Rawalpindi Saqib Zafar approved the pre-qualification bids of the Turkish companies following the clearance from Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) after it was consulted by the CDGR.

Five companies, one Pakistani and four Turkish, showed their interest in managing the solid waste in the big cities of Punjab some three weeks ago.

An official of the district government said the companies were assessed on the basis of their past experience, capacity, financial condition, technical know-how and availability of relevant machinery to operate in the cities.

As in Lahore, where the waste management is being carried out by two Turkish companies, the private firms will be expected to manage seeping, collection and transportation of waste and garbage.

Approximately 800 tons of solid waste is collected by the municipal departments of Rawalpindi and is transported to Losar, a landfill site near Rawat.

Under the plan, the city district government would pay the contractor against every ton of waste collected. This is going to be done in accordance with the rates proposed by the consultant, the official said.



The municipal services department of CDGR in the city have also been facing problem in distilling of drains and proper disposal of solid waste. But, so far, the outsource plan does not include distilling of drains and final disposal of the waste material.

On the other hand, Municipal Labour Union (MLU) has decided to go on strike from January 1 if the government does not take back its decision of privatising waste management in the city.

MLU General Secretary Pervaiz Cheeda said the union is concerned about the future of 1,553 sanitary workers, 53 drivers, 50 supervisors, nine sanitary inspectors and four chief sanitary inspectors for four different sectors of the city.

Moreover, extra charges would now be collected monthly from the residents of Rawalpindi to pay the private firms collecting waste and garbage, he added.

When contacted, Executive District Officer (EDO) Municipal Services Muhammad Imtiaz Malik said the Rawalpindi district coordination officer (DCO) had already assured the staff that their jobs will remain safe.

In Lahore, all staff members were retained by the company and in Rawalpindi, the authorities expect that the contractor may hire more people to improve its performance, the official said.

The EDO said the company was not taxing the locals for the service.

The operations in Rawalpindi will follow the Lahore model, he added.

Responding to a question, he said the contractor would bring in latest equipment to carry out cleanliness work and the district government would also utilise it for other useful purposes.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2012.