KARACHI, July 27: In order to avoid a further delay in the handing over of solid waste management to a Chinese firm, the city government has restricted the initial launch of door-to-door collection of garbage and road sweeping from six towns to four towns and fixed August 14 for the commencement of the service, Dawn has learnt.

The much-awaited integrated municipal solid waste and hospital hazardous waste management project under which the city government had privatised the collection and disposal of solid waste to the Chinese firm, Shanghai Shen Gong Environ-mental Protection Company Limited, for a period of 20 years was earlier supposed to take off from April 1 across the city.

Due to host of reasons, it was delayed twice and the company decided that it would launch its operation in six towns and later expand its network to all other towns of the city.

However, in a recent development, the Chinese company and the city government agreed to restrict the initial launch to four towns — Saddar, Jamshed, Gulshan-i-Iqbal and Liaquat-abad — on an already promised date of August 14.

Well-placed sources told Dawn that in order to fulfil legal requirements the Chinese firm formed a company, Pak S.S.K. Environment & Energy Deve-lopment Company Ltd, which would be responsible for the door-to-door collection, road sweeping, lifting and disposal of solid waste to landfill site and public awareness in the four towns from August 14. However, the company had not built any garbage transfer stations so far, the sources said.

The company would launch its operation in the absence of garbage transfer stations, the sources said, adding that the city government would deduct 20 per cent of the agreed amount till the completion of eight stations.

District Officer Khalid Javed, who is also the project manager, said the company would bring in 63 trucks to lift garbage from the four towns.

Executive District Officer (Municipal Services) Masood Alam told Dawn that the Chinese firm would be responsible for the salaries of sanitary staff of the four towns.

“We will hand over the services of eligible sanitary staff of the four towns to the Chinese firm from August 14,” he added.

Mr Alam said that the four towns would provide their machinery to the company on a rental basis.

Besides, the company would install 800 big dustbins and other machinery and a grand rehearsal would be held on August 8.

The Chinese company would show its performance on the day which would be monitored by the municipal services department, town and union council nazims.

Besides, he said, citizens could lodge their complaints at the Citizens Complaint and Information Management System ‘1339’.

The EDO said that the Chinese firm was trying hard to expand its network to all the 18 towns so that it could get $160,000 per day for lifting and disposal of about 8,000 tons garbage being generated in the city on a daily basis.

He said that as per the agreement, the city government deduct four dollars per ton till the construction of garbage transfer stations by the Chinese firm.

The city government had already identified eight sites for the construction of stations, said the project manager, adding that the Chinese firm would take about one year to complete and make them operational.

According to the agreement signed on January 11, the Chinese firm is responsible for door-to-door collection of solid waste from all residential and industrial areas of the city and its disposal on designated landfill sites.

The city government would pay $20 per ton to the company for lifting and disposal of garbage. However, the city government would share 15 per cent of the total income, to be generated by the company through recycling of the waste.