Hon Phil Goff
Minister of Trade

16 April 2007
Media statement

Goff launches 'Waste to Energy' project in Pakistan

The Minister of Trade, Phil Goff, yesterday formally launched a pilot ‘Waste to Energy’ project in Landhi, near Karachi, Pakistan. The project, which turns animal waste into energy and fertilizer was designed by New Zealand firm Empower Consultants Ltd, with funding assistance from New Zealand Aid.

“The Landhi Waste to Energy project could bring substantial economic and environmental benefits to the people of Landhi,” Phil Goff said.

“The Landhi Cattle Colony, established nearly 50 years ago to supply milk to Karachi, has around 2,000 farming units and 400,000 cattle. There has always been a problem with waste either being dumped on the roads, or washed into the monsoon drains and becoming a health and environmental hazard.

“The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) asked Empower to explore the possibility of converting the waste into energy. Empower worked closely with an engineering firm, NEC, and provincial and municipal governments to develop a concept paper. Its goal was both to improve the land and marine environments, and to lift the economic and social conditions of the people.

“It proposes to do this by collecting the cattle dung and converting it into biogas and high-grade organic fertilizer. The methane from the waste would produce electricity for local use, or sale, supporting a power plant of 25-30 Megawatt. Up to 1400 tonnes of fertilizer could be produced a day, to improve soil fertility.

“In November 2005 NZAID provided up to $500,000 in funding to assist with the project and the challenge now is to move to full-scale implementation. The Asian Development Bank has indicted strong interest in assisting with this phase as have a variety of both green and industrial funding agencies.

“This is a project that has all round benefits. It solves the pollution problem caused by animal waste, and has excellent prospects of being developed into a Clean Development Mechanism earning carbon credits under the Kyoto Protocol.

“It also converts waste into a useful product, fertilizer but most importantly, the project will lift living standards and improve the environment of the local people.

"The New Zealand organisations and others that have played a central role in developing this important project can be justly proud of their achievement and the project will also add another important dimension to our growing bilateral relationship with Pakistan” Phil Goff said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media