February 17, 2020: HUBCO delegation visited the office of Mr Suleman Chawla, President SITE Association of Industry and discusses the plans to build a domestic effluent recycling project in Karachi to provide consistent and reliable industrial-grade water to the industry. Reverse Osmosis process would be used in this plant to ensure consistent output quality.

According to the details project will largely focus on recycling of 50 million gallons of domestic effluent water a day for industrial consumption. HUBCO has submitted draft proposals to the Sindh Government, and the subsequent bidding for the project is likely to commence soon.

Mr Suleman Chawla said that SITE industrial area is dominated by the textile sector which is the backbone of the country’s exports. The production is heavily dependent on water and due to the current shortage and unreliable supply, the production and growth of the industry are hindered. Consequently, the exports and economy of Pakistan are suffering. Unavailability of water is a major impediment for the industrial growth in the SITE industrial area. In addition, such projects would also have a positive environmental impact.

Mr. Saleem Parekh said that to ensure the cost-effectiveness, there are various ways in which the Government can assist such projects. Firstly, the ongoing waste water treatment project at TP-I is requested to be completed on a priority basis as this is a prerequisite to produce industrial-grade water. Moreover, the Government could offer exemptions on Duties & Taxes, Concessionary Financing through the State Bank and Greenfield status to such projects to ensure that water is available for the industry at affordable price. This would go a long way in improving the competitiveness of Pakistan’s exports.

SITE Association highly appreciates this initiative by the Government of Sindh and HUBCO and assured their full support in the implementation and running of this project. The meeting was also attended by Mr Saleem Nagaria, SVP and Mr M. Farhan Ashrafi, VP.