LAHORE: The Lahore model of solid waste management will be replicated in Quetta under a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Punjab and Balochistan governments here on Thursday.

The local government ministers of Punjab and Balochistan, Rana Sanaullah and Sardar Mustafa Khan Tareen, respectively, signed the MoU in the presence of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

Under the MoU, both the governments will share expertise in the sectors of town, urban and regional planning, urban transport, solid waste management, water and sanitation, environment management, legal and institutional development, capacity development, municipal finance, urban economics, information and communication technology, knowledge management, monitoring and evaluation and other related fields.

The Punjab Local Government and Community Development Department will provide assistance to the Balochistan government through the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) for improvement of the solid waste management system in Quetta.

LWMC experts will shortly be visiting Quetta for analysing the institutional, financial and technical aspects of municipal, hospital, industrial and construction and demolition waste management.

They will prepare a situational analysis report by collecting baseline data, to conduct waste characterisation and waste generation study of municipal waste in Quetta and to suggest an institutional arrangements’ framework as well as organisational structure of waste management company to be formed.

The company will also provide assistance in preparation of a short-term improvement plan and a long-term strategic plan for Quetta city. The landfill site engineers of LWMC will identify ways to improve and properly maintain the existing dump site in Quetta, whereas a comprehensive communication and awareness plan will be suggested to strengthen the new system.

IT-based monitoring system will be proposed by the company for efficient operations, and identification of a suitable place for landfill construction will be LWMC’s responsibility.

The LWMC will also design new integrated solid waste management system and work out options for outsourcing of SWM services by following the principles of public private partnership and to prepare bidding documents according to requirements.