Karachi is going to use cow manure to power its fleet of 200 public buses. It is a Green Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) network and will help in reducing air pollution, saving environment and reducing street noise. It is cheap and clean rapid transport network. These zero emission hybrid buses will be fueled by Bio-Methane, acquired from manure of cows and buffaloes. About 3,200 tonnes manure will be collected daily from about 400,000 buffaloes in Karachi. This manure will be brought to biogas plants where it will be processed to produce bi-methane gas and fertilizer; gas will be used to power buses and fertilizer will be used in farming.
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| Cow manure to be used as fuel of 200 buses in Karachi |
This project has multiple benefits;
- Provision of quality public transport to citizens
- Environment friendly; noise and smoke free
- Preservation of about 50,000 gallons fresh water which was being used to wash cow manure
- Protecting sea environment by preventing manure to enter in the ocean
- Use of fertilizer in the farming
This is a mega project of 583.5 million US dollars; from which a loan of 442 million is given by Asian Development Bank (ADB) and a grant of 92.5 million is funded by Government of Sindh, remaining amount is funded by Green Climate Fund partially in the form of grant and loan. Green Climate Fund is a new global fund created to help developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
This project was approved in October 2018 and will be completed within 4 years. It is estimated that it will save 2.6 million CO2 emissions in the air over 30 years of expected project life, which will help protecting environment considerably. It will benefit 1.5 million residents near its 30km route. About 320,000 passengers will use this bus network daily to reach their destinations.
Lack of proper public transport facility is one of the major problem of residents of largest city of Pakistan, Karachi. Available public transport facilities in Karachi are comparatively less and are outdated. Although there are few new buses on the roads of this metropolitan city but those are too less to meet the public requirements of transportation. Most of the buses are of very old design, thus they are not only uncomfortable but also produce smoke and noise pollution.
Keeping in view the above scenario, it is need of hour to develop a proper mega project of public transport in the city. Although fleet of 200 buses is not sufficient but it will help a lot to the citizens of Karachi. Pakistan needs more and more such projects not only in this city but also in other big cities of Pakistan. By providing quality public transport, we can enhance its use and decrease use of private vehicles. In this way we will be able to lessen air pollution.