LAHORE: The Chinese Business Council has expressed interest in setting up a waste-to-energy plant in Punjab. In this regard, Chinese Business Council President Chen Qian Jiang met Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafiq on Thursday.
Agha Ali Haider, MPA, and other officials of the Chinese Business Council were also present. During the meeting, the project of generating energy from waste in Punjab was discussed. The Chinese delegation expressed interest in setting up a plant to generate energy from waste in Lahore.
On this occasion, the Minister said that the work on the next phase of the ‘Suthra Punjab’ programme has been started. “A project to produce diesel and gas from waste was under consideration in Punjab and the Punjab government was ready to provide land for the energy plant to the Chinese company,” he added, adding that four to five thousand tons of waste was generated daily in Lahore alone. “We will welcome setting up waste energy plants in other cities too. Recycling waste will also help solve environmental problems,” he said.
He averred that through the income from waste recycling, expenditure on the ‘Suthra Punjab’ programme could be recovered. He requested Chen Qian Jiang to make a financial model to evaluate further progress. Moreover, he pointed out that generating energy under a public-private partnership will not burden the exchequer.
The Chinese Business Council President, while presenting the initial feasibility to the Minister, said that their main goal was not commercial, but a clean environment would be the main focus. “Setting up a plant near a dumping site would reduce the cost,” he added.
On this occasion, the Minister directed Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) CEO Babar Sahib Din to prepare a presentation for further progress.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
Comments
Comments are closed.