City corporation unsure as companies from Japan, S Korea keen on Ctg waste management

Two companies, one from Japan and the other from South Korea, have submitted proposals to undertake waste management operations in the port city of Chattogram.

However, the Chattogram City Corporation has not yet made a decision regarding which company will be awarded the project. It will be determined after consultations with experts.

Chattogram City Corporation Chief Executive Officer Sheikh Mohammad Tauhidul Islam told The Business Standard that the corporation has many proposals in hand regarding the job. 

Infographic: TBS

"We are weighing the best option for us. For this, the help of experts from the engineering and technology universities of Chattogram and Dhaka will be taken," he added.

According to city corporation sources, around 2,100 tonnes of waste are generated daily in Chattogram. These wastes are collected by the city corporation's workers from people's homes and transported to two landfills.

However, due to inadequate waste management practices, the volume of these landfills continues to increase. In response to this issue, the city corporation has undertaken an initiative to implement a waste management project.

City corporation officials said that in March 2022, JFE Engineering Corporation from Japan put forward a proposal to conduct a comprehensive feasibility study on waste management in Chattogram city. 

Subsequently, the company carried out a survey from August 2022 until February of the following year. The company presented the findings of the survey later at a seminar in February this year.

On 26 January 2023, the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Cooperatives granted permission to the city corporation to approve the letter of intent (LOI) from the Japanese company and proceed with the signing of an agreement for the feasibility study. 

Meanwhile, Chattogram City Corporation Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, accompanied by Md Rafiqul Islam, chief engineer of the city corporation, and Muhammad Abul Hashem, chief cleaning officer, visited South Korea from January 10 to 16 this year. The visit was in response to an invitation by the Korea Environment Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI), a company based in South Korea.

During the visit, the delegation was presented with a draft of the Project Concept Proposal (PCP) by the company, outlining its plans for the waste management project of Chattogram City Corporation. 

Subsequently, on 25 January, the city corporation informed the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Co-operatives about the proposal. However, as of now, the ministry has not yet provided approval for the proposal.

Officials have indicated that the ministry has requested a clear outline of the waste management project from the city corporation.

Additionally, the ministry has sought the city corporation's opinion on the necessity of conducting a pre-feasibility study through joint strategic collaboration between KEITI and the World Bank. The proposal of the pre-feasibility study was mentioned in the PCP of the South Korean company.

Proposals of the two companies

In February this year, JFE Engineering Corporation conducted a seminar where it presented the findings of their survey.

According to the company, the two existing landfills in the city have been reaching the limits of their capacity and becoming unusable. As a solution, the company proposed an integrated waste management program centred around a new landfill.

Additionally, the company highlighted the potential to generate 15 megawatts of electricity by utilising just 1,000 tonnes of waste generated daily in the city.

The Japanese company said it will implement an 'Integrated Waste Treatment' approach for waste management. Furthermore, it emphasised the importance of waste segregation at the source. This indicates its focus on implementing efficient waste management practices that prioritise waste segregation to enhance recycling and proper disposal methods.

Meanwhile, the Korea Environment Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI) intends to establish a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) as part of the waste management project. The MRF will facilitate the separation of various materials such as plastic, cardboard, paper, glass bottles and jars, aluminium and steel cans, including metal containers, using specialised machinery.

Once separated, these materials will be compacted within the material recovery plant and utilised as required.

Additionally, the company plans to set up a small-scale biogas plant. Furthermore, it aims to conduct awareness campaigns and provide training for cleaners at various levels. It also intends to equip waste collection teams with modern tools to facilitate conscious and efficient door-to-door waste collection.

The South Korean company envisions the development of a sanitary landfill in Arefin Nagar area of the city. Its proposal also includes the establishment of a faeces treatment plant, a food waste plant, a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) plant, and a large-scale biogas plant. Additionally, the company aims to install a modern waste transportation system and improve collection procedures.

Furthermore, the vegetable waste and food waste collected by cleaners in the food waste plant will be utilised in two ways. One portion will be utilised as fertiliser, while the other part will be processed into biogas.

For the implementation of the project, KEITI will provide a grant of $1.40 million to the city corporation in the first phase. In addition, the company will provide loans on easy terms for the entire project.

Other offers

A Chinese company has also expressed interest in the port city's waste management. It asked for 30 acres of land and 3,000 tonnes of waste for power generation.

Besides, there are proposals from the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Co-operatives, and a company based in Sweden. 

Apart from consulting experts, the city authorities are considering sharing the work with several companies, according to sources. 

Distributing waste management, recycling, power generation and biogas production to multiple organisations will create competition, they believe.

Chattogram City CEO Sheikh Mohammad Touhidul Islam said, "All offers are seeking land for various components. But it is not possible to give them huge areas of land." 

However, the final decision will be taken on the basis of the opinion of experts, he added.