Four globally reputed companies are intending to make a cumulative $600 million investment to convert Karachi’s garbage into electricity and the Sindh government has also given them green signal by signing Letter of Intent (LOI).

Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Ahmad Shaikh while talking to Business Recorder after the signing of LoI here at a local hotel Friday said that these companies will set up separate ‘waste to energy projects’ with a total capacity of 175 to 200 MW of electricity at Jam Chakro landfill site, Karachi by next year.

The provincial government will provide them land for the establishment of plants as part of its “Green Energy, Clean Karachi” initiative, he said.

Once executed, this would be Pakistan’s first waste to energy project in Karachi. All four companies will execute work on their respective projects, simultaneously.

“We are expecting around $600 million foreign investment in these projects,” Imtiaz said.

This project will also be expended to other cities of the province in future. We have also selected Hyderabad, Sukkur and Larkana, in the next phase.

LoI was signed by Imtiaz Shah Director Alternate Energy on behalf of Sindh Energy Department with the representatives of the five companies - M/s Khan renewable Pvt Ltd, M/s Babcocks and Wilcox renewable, M/s China Machinery Engineering Corporation, M/s Green Waste Energy Pvt Ltd and M/s Engro Energy Pvt Ltd.

Advisor to CM Sindh for Law and Administrator KMC, Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Dutch ambassador in Pakistan, Consul General of USA in Karachi, Consul General of UAE in Karachi, besides representatives of the energy companies and Secretary Local Govt Sindh Najam Ahmed Shah, Secretary Energy Sindh Abu Bakar Madni and other officers of provincial Energy department and Local Government department were also present.

Imtiaz said around 15,000 tons of garbage is generated from Karachi on a daily basis, which is transported to designated landfill sites. The intention of global energy companies for making handsome investment in waste to energy projects is good omen for a clean Karachi.

To a query he said, tariff for the waste to energy projects would be determined by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), and “If the Sindh Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Sepra) is established in the meantime, it will determine tariff,” Imtiaz said.

The story was originally published in Business Recorder on April 02, 2022.