Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah met with chairman Fan Manguao of the Changyi Kangjie Sanitation Group, the firm recently contracted to provide garbage clean-up and disposal services in Karachi, in China on Friday

During the meeting, the company assured CM Shah that they would start their work in two districts of Karachi by the last week of January.

“[Our] machinery will reach Karachi on January 6 and within 10 days of its arrival, it will be cleared from the port,” said Manguao.

He added that his company will be able to start work most probably by the end of January or the first week of February.

“We will distribute dustbins home to home, and our lifting vehicles will collect them from the [designated] areas,” explained the chairman.

The Sindh government has been struggling to contain Karachi's garbage emergency. In neighbourhoods across the city, mounds of garbage can be seen steadily piling up, often creating hurdles for foot and vehicular traffic.

There is no reliable data on the amount of solid waste the metropolis generates on a daily basis, though estimates suggest it runs into thousands of tonnes.

Much of the waste ends up in dumps, alleyways and open spaces, where it remains for weeks if not longer. Some of it is burnt in bonfires that are feared to create health and environmental hazards.

MoU to produce electricity from garbage signed

The Sindh government also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Chinese company to produce electricity from garbage and agricultural waste in Karachi and other parts of Sindh.

The agreement was signed during CM Shah's visit to the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) in Beijing.

Under the MoU, CSIC and its sister company Dewe Group Holding Co. Ltd (DGHOL) will produce electricity from garbage lifted in Karachi, a spokesman for the Sindh CM told DawnNews.

The Chinese company will also generate power from agricultural waste collected from rural areas of Sindh, he said.

Besides shipbuilding, the CSIC has expertise in producing electricity from garbage. It is also involved in producing wind power, the spokesman said.

The agreement was signed by Sindh Board of Investment Chairperson Naheed Memon, CSIC Vice President Qian Jianping and DGHOL Vice President Ji Yutao.

The two companies will send their experts to Sindh to asses the investment required and decide a way forward.

During the meeting, CM Murad also invited CSIC to initiate a wind power generation project in Sindh. A team from the Chinese company will visit Sindh to look into wind power, the CM's spokesman said.