KARACHI, April 15: A private company of New Zealand, in a joint venture with the city district government of Karachi, will set up a project to generate power using cattle dung of Landhi Cattle Colony.

The installation of the Landhi Cattle Colony’s ‘Waste-to-Energy Project’ will prevent the dumping of cattle dung into the sea and instead will use it to produce methane gas for generation of 25mw power.

The project, being implemented by Clean Energy Development Ltd/Empower, New Zealand, will process waste from an estimated 400,000 cattle, which produce 7,200 tons of dung per day. Its capital cost is $75 million. The pilot phase of the project, to be completed by the end of 2007, would generate 14 tons of organic fertilizer per day.

New Zealand Minister for Trade Phil Goff performed the inauguration ceremony at a local hotel Sunday.He congratulated the organizers and people of Karachi on this project, which would help reduce pollution in the area. The project will have huge benefits to the people socially, economically and environmentally, he added.

Asian Development Bank has provided funds for this project while the NZ minister added that New Zealand AID had provided $500,000 for development of the project and establishment of the pilot project.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairman, Alternative Energy Development Board Air Marshal Shahid Hamid said that now the board is actively working on the promotion of bio-gas, biomass and waste-to-energy systems in the country.—PPI