LAHORE: Basic infrastructure for Lahore’s first sanitary landfill at Lakhodair to built at a cost of Rs7 billion, has been completed.

Having an approximate length of 1.5 kilometres, a 32 feet wide dual carriage way had been built from Ring Road to the landfill site to facilitate vehicles in approaching there for waste disposal, a Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) spokesperson told Dawn on Sunday.

The fencing of the site has been completed while around 3,200 feet long boundary wall has also been built along the dual carriageway to mark the boundary of the landfill facility.

Having a capacity of 60 tons each, two weighbridges have also been constructed for handling the large quantity of waste to be delivered at the landfill.

In order to compensate for the environmental loss, trees had been planted in the buffer zone established around the landfill site, he said.

The LWMC had been working on the project for the last one year or so. Out of various proposed sites, the place near Lakhodair village was selected keeping in view the environmental hazards attached with waste disposal.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the site had already been conducted and a no-objection certificate (NOC) was obtained from the environmental protection department, said the spokesperson.

Rest of the construction work at the site would be completed in six phases. The main structures to be constructed would include parking space, workshop desk, administrative blocks, drainage ditch, collection system and treatment plant, gas capturing system and purification plant, besides electricity generator plant.

Initially, 11 acres would be developed for dumping the waste. The expected life of the landfill has been estimated between 8-10 years for managing 2,000 tons of waste on a daily basis. However, with the passage of time, other technologically advance options like composting, RDF, waste for energy, incineration etc would be explored. The infrastructure for these options would also be constructed on the disposal site with private sector’s help.

During its operational life span, the landfill would be used to dispose of approximately 5.4 million tons of waste, according to an estimate.

The estimated cost of the disposal facility would be Rs7 billion. However, during the first year, Rs1.5 billion would be required. The remaining amount would be obtained in incremental manner, said the spokesperson.