KARACHI, March 13: A Belgian firm has shown interest in the city’s solid waste management sector and agreed to invest Rs250 million to set up a modern plant at landfill site of Jam Chakro. A delegation of the Green Technology Environmental Corporation of Belgium led by Belgian Ambassador Michel Goffin called on City Nazim Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday at his office and showed keen interest in installing a modern plant on 25-acre of land in Jam Chakro landfill site to produce fertiliser, building blocks and tiles.

The plant will have the capacity of 10,000 tons of garbage to recycle. The company has already installed such a plant in Lahore.

The nazim assured the delegation to extend maximum cooperation and directed the District Officer Solid Waste Management to arrange a visit of the delegation to Jam Chakro site.

He informed the delegation about the city government’s policy to start projects for the welfare of citizens under public-private partnership.

The nazim said that presently Karachi was producing 8,000 tons of garbage daily while the new plant would have the capacity to recycle10,000 tons of garbage.

He said the city government had also computerised the landfill site of Jam Chakro to provide maximum facilities to the investors. He appreciated the plan to install a new recycling plant.

Mr Kamal also informed the delegation that the city government was taking all-out measures to develop the system of sanitation in the city on modern lines to make the city neat and clean.

He maintained that initiatives had also been taken on towns and union council (UC) levels to improve solid waste management system and negotiations were also under way with foreign companies in this regard.