William J Clinton Foundation (WJCF), which has recently established its office in Karachi, will extend technical assistance to the city government in the fields of solid waste management, water, wastewater and transport.
This was stated by a four-member delegation of Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), a sub-institution of WJCF, which called on City Nazim Mustafa Kamal in the latter's Secretariat on Tuesday, city government sources told Business Recorder.
The delegation comprised Christopher Godlove, Alex Hurd, Shahid Chaudhry and Country Director Arif Parvez while City Nazim Mustafa Kamal, Roshan Ali Sheikh Project Coordinator, Karachi Mega City Development Program (KMCDP) and other officials represented the City District Government Karachi (CDGK).
According to sources the CCI would help CDGK exploit carbon credits from methane and electricity generation (clean development mechanism (CDM), besides extending technical support in land-filling and methane gas management.
The Foundation would also help CDGK in training and capacity building in greenhouse gas emissions and regulation in the solid waste sector, they said. In the water and wastewater sector, the CCI would assist Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) in reducing its operation charges by achieving energy efficiency, sources said.
They said that water recycling technology would be another area in which the CCA and CDGK would cooperate. In the transport sector, the Foundation would help CDGK improve the poorly managed traffic system of the city along with other sectors including light rail, bus rapid transport system etc, they added.
"This CDGK-CCI cooperation is in fact a beginning, which would lead to a long-term agreement between the two sides," said Roshan Ali Sheikh in his talks with Business Recorder. He said the development would ultimately bring very positive results for Karachi. "A close working relationship with Clinton Foundation would give Karachi a good international marketing exposure," he said.
The KMCDP project co-ordinator also eyed a flood of international companies with more competitive rates for accomplishing various developmental and other projects in Karachi. "International companies linked to Clinton Foundation are coming up with at least 50 percent less rates than others, " Roshan said. On the nature of assistance the Foundation would extend to CDGK, he said: "It would purely be technical."
Sources in CDGK however said the WJCF offer would also have a financial element besides technical one. They said the visiting delegation, lauding the CDGK for extensive development of the city within a short span of two and half years, said the city could be made green by using 400 mgd treated sewerage water for agriculture and gardening purposes.
The WKCF would extend all-out support to the CDGK for improving the above-mentioned areas and a study was already under way in this respect, sources said. The Foundation's office, which source said, has been established in the PECHS area, would provide services of its experts for development of Karachi. Sources said that the city nazim had invited the WJCF delegation to meet departmental heads of the CDGK and prepare proposals in the light of their (EDOs) experience.