Foreign firms evince interest in Punjab’s waste-to-energy project

LAHORE: A Japanese group and a consortium of British and Chinese companies have shown interest in investing in a waste-to-energy project in Punjab; this project includes the establishment of 9,000 biofuel plants and a cutting-edge facility for generating electricity from waste.

On Friday, Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafique met with the foreign delegations, which included Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) CEO Babar Sahib Din and officials from the Punjab Energy Department. During the meeting, Hiroshi Kawamura, CEO of the Japanese company Pak Suzuki, provided an overview of the initiative to produce biofuel and organic fertilizer from waste.

The Minister welcomed the Japanese company’s proposal to generate biogas from waste, highlighting that livestock waste accumulates significantly under the “Suthra Punjab” initiative. He praised the plan to set up 9,000 biofuel plants in Pakistan by 2040, stating that using biofuel instead of conventional fuels could reduce carbon emissions by 20 percent, yielding positive environmental impacts.

He mentioned that the Japanese company’s goal is to establish 1,500 plants by 2030 using modern technology. Additionally, Pak Suzuki has expressed its willingness to pay cattle breeders for cow dung, which could enhance the living standards of the rural population and potentially reduce the country’s energy import bill by $1.625 billion by 2040.

“Through the Suthra Punjab programme, 50,000 tons of wastes including livestock waste are collected in the province daily. We should leverage Japanese expertise to utilize this waste effectively,” he remarked.

The Minister requested a timeline from Pak Suzuki for this project and directed the CEO of LWMC to prepare detailed recommendations accordingly.

Hiroshi Kawamura indicated that in addition to the bio-fuel plants, Suzuki will also install bio-fuel converters in vehicles. He commended the Suthra Punjab initiative and acknowledged Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s Green Punjab vision.

Meanwhile, a delegation from the British-Chinese consortium, led by Williams Ideho, also met with the Minister, stating that their consortium (CSET) plans to set up a state-of-the-art plant to generate electricity from waste. This consortium includes partners from Indonesia, Thailand, and Central Asian countries.

The Minister highlighted that the Cixi plant can generate 55MW of electricity from 3,000 tons of waste, assuring that CSET would receive all possible support for its investment in Punjab. He noted that this would not only provide a cheap energy source but also help reduce waste, thereby improving the environment.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025