Sweden would like to collaborate more to take forward the process of waste-to-energy projects for sustainable urban development, Counsellor, Environment, Climate Change and Energy, Embassy of Sweden, Karl Edberg has said.
Speaking at an interactive session of officials of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) and a 15-member Swedish delegation he was leading on Friday, he said solid waste should be viewed from its potential as a revenue-earner from generation of energy. However, it was the financial side that needed to be taken a closer look and technology was not a problem.
He said a Memorandum of Understanding would be entered into with the Indian government on urban development. He held discussions with the Chief Minister in Hyderabad too on issues of urban development.
Municipal Commissioner M.V. Satyanarayana said in 2007 an MoU was entered into and in 2011 joint collaboration started to support waste-to-energy projects. Now GVMC will come forward with concrete proposals for the next course of action with a view to achieve solid waste management without a landfill. The course of action would be decided after talks with senior officials and the State government. A team of officials would visit Sweden to understand the projects taken up in that country better, Mr. Satyanarayana said.
Consultant on SWM Eric Ronnols presented a document on SWM for incorporation in the revised City Development Plan to the Commissioner. Four ideas on SWM with a total investment of Rs.212 crore were proposed.
Senior Advisor, International Affairs Coordinator, India, Ludvig Lindstrom said Visakhapatnam was one of the cities prioritised for urban development. The sludge from Sewerage Treatment Plants would be used for production of biogas for use as fuel in urban transportation.
Interactions would identify the challenges civic bodies faced in projects they wanted to do, Mr. Lindstrom said adding the crucial part was the business part and how to package it. Several working plans were put forward. The model that would be taken up would create examples for sustainable development in India and Sweden, he hoped.
Additional Commissioner (Projects) K. Ramesh who coordinated the interaction said GVMC looked forward to support from Sweden on reclaiming the huge Kapuluppada dumping yard spread over 80 acres.
Executive Engineer K.V.N. Ravi who visited Sweden recently along with Mr. Ramesh said there was a lot to learn from the Swedish experience that uses biogas for urban transport. Chief Engineer B. Jayarami Reddy, Additional Commissioner (Finance) P. Poornachandra Rao and Chief Medical Officer (Health) Ramana Murthy participated. GVMC HRD consultant A. Rajendra Krishna, who coordinated the team’s visit, spoke.
