Solid waste disposal: Committee formed to select firms
Turkish firms bid for the project; consultant will evaluate bids in two days .
Approximately, 800 tons of solid waste is collected by the municipal department every day from the garrison city and is transported to Losar, a landfill near Rawat. PHOTO: AFP
RAWALPINDI:
The Punjab government has formed a high-level committee to select from the two Turkish firms that bid for solid waste collection in four districts including Rawalpindi, officials said. The bids were opened in Lahore on Thursday.
The committee consists of Punjab development and planning chairman, secretaries for finance and local government and two representatives from the respective district governments of Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad and Gujranwala.
An official of Rawalpindi district government told The Express Tribune that two Turkish companies, Al-Bayrak and Ozkartallar, bid for managing the solid waste in the garrison city.
He said the consultant for Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) will take two days to evaluate the bids and forward them to the respective district coordination officers (DCOs).
The district governments will forward the bids with their suggestions to the high-level committee, which will select firms for solid waste collection and disposal, the official said.
When contacted, Rawalpindi Executive District Officer (EDO) Municipal Services Malik Imtiaz Ahmed, the focal person for privatisation of solid waste management confirmed that two Turkish companies had offered bids, which would be referred to the DCO in two days’ time. The city district government will pay the contractor per ton of waste collected in accordance with the rates proposed by the consultant, the EDO said.
Three Turkish companies were shortlisted last December by the LWMC to manage solid waste in the big cities. Approximately, 800 tons of solid waste is collected by the municipal department every day from the garrison city and is transported to Losar, a landfill near Rawat.
The real challenges faced by the municipal services department of City District Government Rawalpindi are clearing drains and disposing of solid waste but these have not been outsourced so far.
The Municipal Labour Union had protested over the planned privatisation, fearing that staff would be rationalised by the Turkish companies and there would be no job security for those who would be retained. DCO Saqib Zafar has already assured the protesting staff of the solid waste department that no worker would be rendered jobless.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2013.
The Punjab government has formed a high-level committee to select from the two Turkish firms that bid for solid waste collection in four districts including Rawalpindi, officials said. The bids were opened in Lahore on Thursday.
The committee consists of Punjab development and planning chairman, secretaries for finance and local government and two representatives from the respective district governments of Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad and Gujranwala.
An official of Rawalpindi district government told The Express Tribune that two Turkish companies, Al-Bayrak and Ozkartallar, bid for managing the solid waste in the garrison city.
He said the consultant for Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) will take two days to evaluate the bids and forward them to the respective district coordination officers (DCOs).
The district governments will forward the bids with their suggestions to the high-level committee, which will select firms for solid waste collection and disposal, the official said.
When contacted, Rawalpindi Executive District Officer (EDO) Municipal Services Malik Imtiaz Ahmed, the focal person for privatisation of solid waste management confirmed that two Turkish companies had offered bids, which would be referred to the DCO in two days’ time. The city district government will pay the contractor per ton of waste collected in accordance with the rates proposed by the consultant, the EDO said.
Three Turkish companies were shortlisted last December by the LWMC to manage solid waste in the big cities. Approximately, 800 tons of solid waste is collected by the municipal department every day from the garrison city and is transported to Losar, a landfill near Rawat.
The real challenges faced by the municipal services department of City District Government Rawalpindi are clearing drains and disposing of solid waste but these have not been outsourced so far.
The Municipal Labour Union had protested over the planned privatisation, fearing that staff would be rationalised by the Turkish companies and there would be no job security for those who would be retained. DCO Saqib Zafar has already assured the protesting staff of the solid waste department that no worker would be rendered jobless.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 18th, 2013.