ISLAMABA: The capital development authority (CDA) is set to introduce a new waste collection and cleanliness system in rural ISLAMABA, with operations expected to formally begin on October 13.
The civic authority has issued a letter of acceptance to a Turkish-led venture for the waste management project, which covers both rural and urban areas of the federal capital.
The Rs18 billion contract spans four years, with the CDA deciding to launch the rural package first because residents in these areas currently lack a proper waste collection system.
Under the new arrangements, the contractor will deploy under 103 vehicles and more than 1,300 staff members to collect waste from rural areas and transport it to the transfer station in Sector I-11; the waste will then be moved to the Losar landfill site in Rawalpindi.
CDA officials said waste segregation would also be carried out at the transfer station. The authority is further planning a recycling facility that could process recovered plastic for use in products such as manhole covers.
The CDA chairman directed the contractor to begin operations at the earliest and emphasised the need for consistent service delivery in rural areas.
At present, waste collection in Islamabad’s rural areas is carried out only occasionally by the CDA; due to the absence of a regular system, residents often dispose of garbage in open spaces and nullahs.
The urban package will be introduced in a later phase. Until then, the CDA will continue its existing waste-management operation in urban Islamabad.
The contract was awarded after a procurement process in which the Turkish company initially faced disqualification during technical evaluation. Following a grievance submitted by the company, the CDA received the decision and ultimately qualified its bid. Its final bid was approximately Re380 million lower than the competing joint venture’s bid. The competing bidder later challenged the decision before the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA), which ultimately ruled in favour of the CDA.
The new waste-management system is expected to improve waste Collection is ISLAMABA rural community while introducing a more organised approach to waste transportation, segregation, and potential recycling.
