The World Bank will provide $5.524 million (of which $2.869 million long-term debt) to proposed Carbon Finance project "Lahore Composting" (Saif Group, Pakistan, the sole owner of Lahore Compost Ltd-LCL) to avoid generation of methane emission from biodegradable wastes and improve cultivated land by using compost as a natural soil conditioner. In an Integrated Safeguards Datasheet of Lahore Composting, Project Task Team Leader and World Bank expert Mihaly Kopanyi said that the Carbon Finance project will provide additional support for achieving the following objectives and benefits, namely to reduce carbon emission in a financially sustainable way, to promote and provide organic conditioner for agriculture; to increase recycling of valuable materials; to reduce health hazard by overall reduction of waste disposed off in landfills; and reduce the demand for landfill capacity. This carbon finance project will purchase Emergency Recovery Plants (ERs) from the composting plant located in Mehmood Booti area of Lahore city. The program shall be financed by Lahore Compost Ltd through both equity and long-term owners-loan provided by the Saif Group, the sole owner of LCL. The operational cost will be covered and borrowing will be repaid through sales revenues and future carbon finance payments. The plant managed by LCL has been operating on a pilot basis since March 31, 2006. The experience has been very positive so far and the quality of the compost is high. The LCL follows standard operation procedures for an aerobic windrow type technology; the plant is technically sustainable and in compliance with the Pakistan national environmental quality standards. The plant is currently operating with a 300 ton per day (TPD) capacity, but plans to expand to 1,000 TPD by 2009. All these expansions can materialise within the present premises of LCL. Mihaly Kopanyi said that the expansion of the composting capacity will require both civil works and purchasing additional equipment. Both local and imported technology will be used for the composting plant. Specific equipment eg turner, screener, sorters have been and will be imported from a reputable producer of composting machinery. Commenting over the "Key Safeguard Policy Issues and their Management", Mihaly Kopanyi said that the project does not envisage any large scale, significant or irreversible environmental impacts. The environmental and social impacts of the project are primarily positive, since composting will substantially reduce the waste dumped to the landfill, cut down the green house gas emissions to the atmosphere, provide jobs for both skilled and unskilled workers with a better work environment than a landfill; and does not require displacing people. The LCL has undertaken an environmental and social impact assessment in harmony with the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997, and World Bank's Safeguard policies, he added An Environmental management Plan (EMP) prepared under the project Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) will be implemented during the project construction/expansion and operation phases to ensure that there are no adverse environmental impacts; rather potential environmental benefits are enhanced, he said. Mihaly Kopanyi also mentioned that the communities in the project area are likely to benefit from the project with potential skilled and unskilled jobs with a better work environment than a landfill and potential health and environmental benefits due to reduction in the amount of waste dumped in the existing unsanitary landfill. The project will also contribute towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, thereby supporting and contributing to the global efforts towards minimising climate changes. In the absence of the project, Mihaly Kopanyi said the waste will be dumped in the unsanitary landfill site. The City District Government Lahore (CDGL) considered incineration as a potential alternative to the project but eventually rejected it due to its adverse environmental impacts and non-feasibility based on the characteristics of the solid waste. Further, LCL has developed standard operating procedures based on the best available practices to ensure that there are no adverse environmental impacts; rather potential environmental benefits are enhanced, he added.