Karachi: The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) is aiming to build the first solar park in the provincial capital within one month.
The KMC has chosen the site of Kidney Hill Park in the middle of Karachi for building the park.
The rapid transformation of 62 acres area of Kidney Hill Park from a trash dump site into an urban forest just within two years is a major success story of the KMC in the recent past. With a maximum height of 219 feet, Kidney Hill Park is also considered the highest point in Karachi. The KMC spent its own resources for planting some 1,50,000 indigenous tree and plant saplings for greenery in the hilly spot of Karachi within the shortest possible time.
While speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony of the project, Karachi’s Administrator, Barrister Murtaza Wahab, said the site of Kidney Hill Park was the best choice for building the city’s first solar park as the hilly green zone had emerged as the icon of the cause of environmental protection.
He said the private partners of the KMC engaged for the project had assured him to complete the installation of the solar panels at the site within 30 days.
Barrister Wahab said that the solar park would generate 100 kilowatts of renewable electricity that would be sold to Karachi’s power utility the K-Electric.
He said the first-of-its-kind project would enable Karachi’s municipality to earn up to Rs5 million every month.
He said the KMC had ample land in Karachi for building more such parks as that would enable it to save on its electricity bills otherwise millions of rupees were paid to the K-Electric every month only to keep the streetlights on in the city.
Construction of more such solar parks would provide an additional revenue source to the KMC, he added.
