ISLAMABAD, Aug 30: The government has planned to set up effluent treatment plants at the six selected high-priority industrial estates and clusters in the country at an estimated cost of $145 million, said Minister of State for Environment Tahir Iqbal on Saturday.

Presiding over a meeting on the project, Tahir Iqbal said the government would be putting in place a comprehensive industrial environment management programme with policy and institutional reforms as well as an investment package for infrastructure improvement and capacity building.

He said that to improve environmental conditions and private sector growth through promotion of best practices in the country’s industrial sector, the government would implement an Industrial Efficiency and Environmental Management Sector Project with the ADB support.

Main components of the project also include setting up of two landfill sites to handle hazardous waste as well as institutional capacity building, including provision of “project implementation consultants” and “environmental and social development/resettlement consultants”, he said.

The minister said the project was devised keeping in view the growing demand of international buyers that the goods they buy from Pakistan must be manufactured in environment-friendly conditions.

“The project is also aimed at coping with the emerging challenges in the wake of WTO,” the minister said.

Under the WTO agreement, all goods in the countries signatory to the agreement must be manufactured in environment-friendly atmosphere.

Javaid Zafar, environment secretary; Raja Raza Arshad, additional secretary; Rune Stroem, senior energy specialist of the Asian Development Bank, and senior officials of the ministry and the bank were also present at the meeting.—APP