Peshawar to get Rs1.1bn facelift

PESHAWAR, March 4: Dusty and crowded Peshawar can hope to get a cleaner look as the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has reached an agreement with a Lahore-based company to establish a solid waste recycling plant in the city soon.

Not only the ambitious project is promised to improve cleanliness in the city by converting the tons of garbage it produces daily into organic fertilizer, and useful household items, but also to provide jobs to about 200 people.

Official sources said the Rs1.1 billion project was discussed at a meeting held on Friday under Senior Minister Bashir Bilour. Secretary local government Aurangzeb Khan, secretary Local Counsel Board (LCB) Attaul Haq, DCO Peshawar Siraj Ahmed and other officials attended the meeting.

Mr Attaul Haq told Dawn that the project would be inaugurated in April and the Lahore-based company would be provided all facilities for installation of the recycling plant.

Already, the provincial government has leased the company 10 kanals of land for the purpose in Dheri Baghbanan area on the outskirts of Peshawar city.

Mr Haq said that under the agreement the company would provide 12 vehicles for shifting waste from different areas to the site of the plant.

He said that solid waste would be converted into organic fertilizers, plastic chairs and other household items. He said that the government would share the profit with the company.

Mr Haq said that it was the first project of its kind in the province and after its success more such projects would be started in other cities.

The management of the proposed recycling plant will buy solid waste from the administrations of four towns at the rate of Rs100 per ton, Mr Haq said while citing rules of the agreement. He said that 1,000 tons waste would be bought daily from the four towns of Peshawar and 200 tons collected from the Cantonment areas.

The LCB secretary said that the city district government was bound to provide 500 tons of solid waste daily to the recycling plant.

Mr Bilour told the meeting that around 200 people would get jobs with the establishment of the recycling plant, says a handout issued after the meeting. He directed the company to ensure swift work on the project.

Early disposal of garbage for ensuring cleanliness in the city was a longstanding demand of the people of Peshawar. They had been calling for creation of a special office of trash commissioner to deal with the continuing garbage crisis.

Mounds of garbage spreading stinking smell could be noticed in the streets of the city. Residents have been resorting to setting trash on fire, raising fears of toxic smoke.

Dumps of garbage in certain parts of the city have been a permanent feature for the last many years, but despite repeated protests of the residents the municipal staff could not respond in an effective way to clean the areas.