LAHORE: The feasibility study for Lahore’s Lakhudair Landfill Gas Collection & Utilisation Project is likely to be completed by next month, as the work on this is currently underway.

“National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak) is conducting the feasibility study for the launch of this vital project. Hopefully it will be completed by the end of next month,” Suthra Punjab Authority (SPA) Director General Babar Sahib Din revealed while talking to Dawn on Tuesday.

The project is Punjab’s flagship Article 6 (international cooperation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) municipal waste initiative with the aim to convert landfill methane into renewable energy, carbon finance and long-term economic value.

According to a document, the Lakhodair landfill, spreading over approximately 200 acres, is one of Pakistan’s largest municipal solid waste disposal facilities, receiving 5,000–5,500 tonnes of waste daily and containing an estimated 20 million tonnes of accumulated waste. The site is a major source of methane (CH), a greenhouse gas with a global warming potential around 80 times greater than CO over a 20-year period.

Recognising its significance, the provincial government, through the SPA, initiated the Lakhodair Landfill Gas Collection and Utilisation (LFGCUS) Project approximately two years ago. The ministry of climate change has also issued the letter of intent (LoI) under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement. The project is being developed under the SPAR6C Programme, a five-year multi-country project launched in 2022 which supports Pakistan in the preparatory work for Article 6 activity implementation, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, through the International Climate Initiative (IKI) with Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) as the lead implementing partner and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Copenhagen Climate Centre providing Article 6 technical support.

Nespak, in association with GSUK, is undertaking the feasibility study, which is expected to complete by August 17, 2026, while the mitigation activity design document (MADD), including the MRV framework, is expected in September 2026. The project is being structured under a 20-year design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) public-private partnership with support from a transaction advisor.

The document further reveals that the project requires an estimated investment of USD 25–35 million and is expected to generate approximately 18.8 million m³ of methane annually, which will be upgraded into 96 to 98% renewable biomethane. It is projected to generate approximately 275,000 verified carbon credits (tCOe) annually, annual revenues of USD 3.5 to 5.8 million and an IRR of 10-15pc, while creating 150–220 direct jobs and improving Pakistan’s energy security.

The document also discusses the strategic partnership with the Norwegian NACA Fund, which is a carbon finance initiative established by the Government of Norway and managed by the GGGI. The Fund supports the identification, development and implementation of high-integrity Article 6 carbon market projects in partner countries.

The Lakhodair Landfill Project is one of the schemes that has been shortlisted by GGGI for further assessment under the NACA Fund and if the project is successfully developed and implemented, and subject to the required approvals under the Pakistan–Norway Article 6 bilateral cooperation, Norway can become the buyer of the carbon credits generated by the project.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2026