Waste-to-energy projects envisaged

Express Tribune

13-02-2025

LAHORE:
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif has said that the provincial government will launch waste-to-energy projects with the support of international partners.
She was addressing a session on advancing circular economy under the Pakistan-Turkiye Partnership for Sustainability in Islamabad.
The chief minister welcomed the First Lady of Turkiye, Emine Erdogan, and visited stalls along with her.
CM Maryam Nawaz said Turkiye's waste management model had helped her government immensely in formulating this Suthra Punjab programme. "I am grateful to Emine Erdogan who introduced us to international best practices for sanitation" she added.
She said that thanks to the waste management model of Turkiye, the Punjab government had adopted a modern, effective and sustainable sanitation system. "The Suthra Punjab Programme is not just a project to clean roads, it is a mission to protect health, economic stability and build a modern Punjab."
She added, "Clean cities attract more investment and promote tourism. I welcome all international partners, experts and investors in Punjab."
She said her team was committed to making Punjab a global model of cleanliness and development. "We will make Punjab one of the cleanest, greenest and most developed regions of the world," she added.
She said, "As soon as I took an oath of the office as a Chief Minister, I vowed to make every city and village of the province clean in accordance with the international standards."
The chief minister said a new industry was being created under the Suthra Punjab programme, which would create more than 100,000 job opportunities. She said ten scheme would also strengthen the economy of Punjab ad agreements worth billions of rupees had been signed.
She said Rs120 billion had been allocated for the Suthra Punjab programme and the investment would provide long-term environmental and economic benefits.
Public-private partnership has been launched, and local industries and business community will play a key role in Punjab's sanitation system.
She said the public-private partnership would bring innovation, effectiveness and sustainability to the sanitation sector.
"Punjab generates 57,000 tonnes of waste daily, which was a mounting challenge. We are successfully confronting it with the latest technology. In Lahore, we have introduced the world's largest door-to-door waste collection mechanism. We are determined to extend the door-to-door waste collection mechanism to all urban areas of Punjab," she said.
The chief minister said, "To improve the cleaning process in rural areas, we have introduced eco-friendly loader rickshaws and other small machinery units.