Prime Minister (PM) Shahbaz Sharif has constituted a task force to draft the country’s first national policy on waste-to-energy projects.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Thursday, the body will work to encourage private sector participation and lay out a strategy, institutional framework and roadmap for advancing waste-to-energy initiatives across Pakistan.
Power Division Minister Sardar Awais Leghari will serve as the convener of the task force. Its members include Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik, Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani, federal secretaries for climate change and inter-provincial coordination, and secretaries of local government, climate change and energy departments from all four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Representatives from the private sector have also been brought on board.
The task force has been mandated to look into international practices on waste-to-energy generation and map out legal, regulatory, financial and operational barriers holding back the sector in Pakistan.
Its terms of reference include proposing legislation and regulatory reforms to support project development, along with measures to strengthen coordination among stakeholders and ease implementation of waste-to-energy initiatives.
