Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Port Qasim Authority (PQA) on Monday singed two memorandum of understanding (MoUs) with a French firm to conduct a comprehensive study on the development of desalination and water treatment plants at Karachi Port and Port Qasim.
The MoUs were signed by KPT Chairperson Nasreen Haque and PQA Chairman Vice Admiral Asad Qureshi (Retd) with Didier Authier of M/s VEOLIA Water Solutions & Technologies-OTV at KPT Head Office in the presence of Dr Asim Hussain, Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources and Chairman National Reconstruction Bureau and Secretary Ports and Shipping Salim Khan.
After the signing ceremony Dr Asim told media persons that work on the two projects would be started at an estimated cost of 100 million euros within one year after completion of the study, which according to General Manger Planning and Development Brigadier Jamshed Zaidi (Retd) would cost the French firm around two million euros.
KPT Chairperson Nasreen Haque, however, told Business Recorder that VEOLIA, which is a fully owned firm of French Group of Companies, Veolia Environment, would conduct the study free of cost for KPT and PQA. The premier's advisor said Karachi was producing about 450 million gallon sewage daily, for which at least four to five treatment plants were required, while the city had three plants only.
He said work on the MoUs with VEOLIA, which had already obtained 100 MGD French Protocol for Lahore, was continued for at least the last seven months. To a query Dr Asim said all development projects being undertaken by the ministry would be completed during the tenure of the present government.
According to a KPT statement the foreign company would analyse the feasibility of establishing desalination and water treatment plants at Karachi Port to resolve the water and wastewater related issues at the country's largest port While at PQA the study would confine to the development of a desalination plant to produce clean and drinking water for needs of the port and its vast industrial area, it added.
The projects are envisioned to help KPT achieve a 'pristine harbour environment' at its port by making use of the horrendous influx of land based pollutants coming directly into the harbour mainly from the untreated industrial effluents and raw sewage from three quarters of the city.
The pollutants are not only jeopardising the marine ecology, but also posing a serious threat to the human health by contaminating the fish and entire food chain. Under the MoUs, VEOLIA would arrange funding for the cost of the study, while KPT would provide access to the area, relevant documents/data drawings, past studies, etc besides facilitating the company to interact with the concerned governmental and non-governmental offices, including relevant ministries.
The implementation phase of the project would involve the actual users of the study including Karachi Water and Sewerage Board and city and Sindh governments. The MoU between PQA and VEOLIA is based on the same conditions, said the statement.