Staff Reporter
Karachi
The World Bank (WB) on the recommendation of Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah has allocated $10 million for making Sindh Solid Waste Management Authority (SSWMA) as one of the world class organisation in solid waste management.
This was disclosed in a meeting held between Sindh CM and eight-member WB delegation led by it Global Director for Urban, Resilience and Land Practice Groups Dr Sameh Naquib Wahba Tadros. His other delegation members were Manager Urban Sector in South Asia Dr Catalina Marulanda, Manager Resilience Practice in South Asia Mr Christophe Pusch and others. The chief minister was assisted by Chairperson P&D Naheed Shah, Principal Secretary to CM Sajid Jamal Abro, Home Secretary and PD Karachi Neighbourhood Improvement Programme (KNIP) Kazi Kabir and others.
The CM said that the Sindh Solid Waste Management Authority has been established recently. “It is a new organisation and would definitely take time to achieve expertise but even then there is a dire need to operate it on scientific manner and make it as a leading solid waste management organisation in the country,” he said.
At this the WB Global Director Dr Dameh said that in Karachi Neighbourhood Improvement Programme (KNIP) there was a provision for solid waste management. He agreed to allocate $10 million for capacity building, technical expertise and construction of a new Landfill Site for SSWMA.
The CM said that he was keen to develop a most modern and environment-friendly Landfill Site on the outskirt of the city. “This landfill Site must be equipped with all the necessary machinery, gadgets, equipments and technical staff and useful for power generation,” he said. He added that instead of spending million of rupees on garbage lifting he was planning to make the garbage as fund generation work. “If we achieve this target then SSWMA will become a self-sufficient organization,” he said.
On the request of the CM the World Bank agreed to construct a Landfill Site over an area of 500 acre on the outskirt of the city for government would provide land.