The transformation of the waste of waste from Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) to Mehmood Booti into a solar park and an urban forest area is progressing rapidly. The authorities plan to complete the first phase of the project by July this year, the second phase should be finalized by the end of the year.
Gas emissions to the discharge methane will be converted to energy usable thanks to an investment of five billion rupees, and the project should also generate carbon credits.
The piles of imposing waste near Mehmood Booti, north of Lahore Ring Road, have long contributed to environmental pollution and the health risks of local residents, in particular LWMC workers, due to the persistent emissions of odors and methane.
However, the discharge of 42 acres, which once measured almost 80 feet high, is now covered with earth and transformed into a solar park and into an urban forest.
Most Lahore waste has been discharged on this site until 2016, when it was closed, and waste elimination was moved to a new site in Lakhodair, which is now approaching its full capacity.
In 2023, the goalkeeper’s government launched a feasibility study for the conversion of Mehmood Booti to a solar energy park and a recreational space. The current provincial administration has now integrated this initiative into the “Punjab” program of the Minister -Chief.
Lahore Waste Management Company and Ravi Uthority (Ruda) jointly supervise the project. According to the CEO of LWMC, Babar Sahib Deen, the discharge will be used to extract gas, which will be sold to neighboring industries.
To this end, large plastic pipes, about one foot in diameter, have been installed at various points through the discharge to capture methane gas emissions.
In addition to gas extraction, an 11 acres solar park is being developed at the top of the site, which should generate around five megawatts of electricity. Meanwhile, the surrounding area of 31 acres will be dedicated to urban forestry, with tree plantations and walking trails.
The CEO of Ruda, Imran Amin, stressed that the transformation of Mehmood Booti has transformed a former dump into a lucrative asset, providing for generating substantial income.
The project will bring economic advantages for the next two decades thanks to carbon credits, biogas and electricity production. The authorities believe that the sale of carbon credits alone will generate two to three billion rupees per year, while the electricity of the solar park will be commercially viable.
In addition, the production of discharge biogas should contribute billions of rupes to the revenue source of Punjab. The feasibility of the carbon credit program is already over.
Carbon credits, also called certified reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, are generated when a company, individual or institution undertakes projects that reduce or eliminate greenhouse gases.
A metric tonne of reduced or eliminated greenhouse gas emissions is equivalent to carbon credit, which can be sold on the carbon market for five to fifty US dollars, depending on the quality of the project.
The authorities believe that this project could generate between five hundred thousand to one million US dollars per year thanks to carbon credit sales.
Local residents expressed their assessment for the initiative. Haji Muhammad Mughal, head of the local community and businessman, noted that odor and gas emissions from the discharge had previously forced many residents to move, visitors also avoiding the region.
He welcomed government efforts to rehabilitate the site in an environmentally friendly space. He also urged the authorities to extend environmental projects similar to the Lakhodair spill site, which also approaches full capacity.
Government representatives have confirmed that work will soon start on the Lakhodair discharge site. They believe that these initiatives will play a transformative role in improving the air quality of Lahore and the global urban environment.
