Mayor, Chinese firm’s team discuss future plans

Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar and other representatives held a meeting on Monday with a four-member delegation from the Chinese firm contracted for

sanitation projects in the city.

“Our city, Karachi, is one of the largest and most populous in the world. The city’s size and its daily output of over 12,000 tonnes of garbage make it absolutely necessary that we adopt a highly professional and modern approach, based around committed teams and developed infrastructure, for civic management,” said the mayor during the meeting with representatives of Changyi Kangjie Sanitation Group at his office.

He said that all stakeholders were aware that removal of garbage and provision of sanitation facilities essentially remain responsibilities of the local government. However, he said, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation would still encourage and welcome any such endeavours that are aimed at making Karachi a cleaner city.

Reviewing the progress over the past two years, the meeting was told that the firm was contracted for lifting garbage from districts South and East, with the agreement for District South signed on October 26, 2016 and for District East on November 8, 2016.

Consequently, operations were started in District South on March 1, 2017 and in District East on May 1, 2017 with a fleet of 193 vehicles and a total investment of $30 million. The representatives of the Chinese firm said they were taking multiple steps, including hiring of more manpower for sweeping duties, to properly cater to the demands of the city’s districts.

These steps, they said, would be taken in consultation with union councils and the staff of UCs would also be brought on board for measures including door-to-door collection of garbage. However, the firm’s representatives highlighted illiteracy and the consequent limited awareness of hygiene and sanitation among the people of Karachi as a major challenge.

They stressed upon the city officials that, for optimum results, it was essential that the masses be educated on the need and benefits of cleanliness. There was also a detailed presentation on the Chinese company’s history. The meeting participants were told that Changyi Kangjie Sanitation Group was a sanitation enterprise with ‘State Grade A’ qualifications of sanitation and road cleaning.

The firm provides professional urban and rural road cleaning and municipal solid waste collection, transportation and disposal, and urban-rural-integrated sanitation services. The group has successively taken on over 400 sanitation projects in 18 provinces and more than 80 cities of China.

As part of the group’s efforts in line with China’s national development strategy, ‘One Belt, One Road’, it has signed sanitation services agreements in Karachi, Pakistan; Bogota, Columbia; Cotonou, Benin; Accra, Ghana; and Quebec City in Canada.

For the meeting, Mayor Akhtar was assisted by DMC Korangi Chairman Nayyar Raza, DMC Central Chairman Rehan Hashmi, DMC East Chairman Moeed Anwer, adviser to the mayor Farhat Khan, Coordination Director Masood Alam and other officials.