Karachi’s Jam Chakro Landfill Site Opens First Phase as Four Garbage Transfer Stations Near Completion
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday announced that four garbage transfer stations (GTS) being developed in Karachi had entered the final stages of completion, as he inaugurated the first phase of Sindh’s first sanitary engineered landfill site at Jam Chakro.
The chief minister formally inaugurated the project by cutting a ribbon and initiating waste disposal at the site. Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Labour Minister Saeed Ghani, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab and senior officials attended the ceremony.
The project, being implemented with World Bank assistance at an estimated cost of Rs14 billion, includes $100 million in World Bank financing and $5 million from the provincial government. It aims to modernise Karachi’s solid waste management system and introduce scientific and environmentally sustainable methods of waste disposal.
The four garbage transfer stations were previously used as informal dumping grounds and are being upgraded under the World Bank-funded Solid Waste Emergency and Efficiency Project (SWEEP). Work was delayed by issues involving waste removal, encroachments and the handover of land.
Although the stations were initially scheduled for completion by August 2026, the timeline has been revised. Three stations are now expected to be completed between October and November 2026, while the Dinga Mor station is scheduled for completion by March 2027.
Briefing the chief minister, Local Government Minister Nasir Hussain Shah said construction at the Sharafi Goth station had reached 71.43 per cent and was targeted for completion by October 30, 2026.
Work on the Imtiaz station was 62.82pc complete, while the Gutter Baghicha station had reached 51.92pc completion. Both are scheduled to be completed by November 30, 2026.
The minister said construction at Dinga Mor was 14.11pc complete, with completion expected by March 30, 2027. Three engineered landfill cells had already been completed, while overall progress on the construction package stood at 61.67pc. The remaining work is targeted for completion by November 30, 2026.
According to a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s House, the approximately 150-acre landfill site has been developed with an engineered lining system, including geotextile materials, to prevent soil contamination.
The facility also features a dedicated leachate collection and management system, weighbridges for accurate record-keeping and arrangements for environmental monitoring.
The chief minister directed the authorities to ensure the proper operation of weighbridges, maintain daily records of incoming waste and establish a regular reporting mechanism. He stressed that waste must be deposited only in designated engineered cells, warning that conventional dumping practices contaminate the environment and increase the risk of disease.
The local government minister said the landfill was part of a broader waste management initiative that included the four garbage transfer stations, which together would have a handling capacity of 6,500 tonnes per day.
Waste collected from different parts of the city will be taken to the transfer stations, loaded onto larger vehicles and transported to the Jam Chakro landfill site, he said.
The chief minister said the landfill project was expected to generate carbon credits worth approximately $20 million, describing it as a significant step towards scientific and environmentally sustainable waste disposal in Karachi.
Later, speaking to the media, Mr Shah addressed proposals for the creation of new provinces, saying the Sindh Assembly had repeatedly passed resolutions rejecting such proposals and that its position could not be ignored.
He said everyone had the right to express an opinion, but the creation of new provinces would have to follow the constitutional procedure, including the required legislative approvals and a two-thirds majority wherever prescribed by the Constitution.
“The elected representatives of Sindh have expressed the position of the province’s people through the assembly,” he said, adding that the Sindh Assembly’s position on the issue remained clear.
