BANGALORE: Swedish truck giant Scania will set up a biogas factory in Narasapura industrial area of Kolar to turn waste into fuel for buses.
According to Swedish Ambassador to India Harald Sandberg, Scania’s biogas factory would demonstrate how a large number of buses in Stockholm run on biogas. “A demo plant in Narasapura will be used to display techniques that we use in Stockholm. A demonstration of how waste can be used to run buses instead of facing landfill problems will be carried out,” said Sandberg.
A Swedish delegation led by Sandberg and Senior Advisor to the Swedish Minister for Trade Jonas Hafström was in the city on Monday for a day-long workshop on Sustainable Urban Transport, jointly organised by the Embassy of Sweden and the state government.
“Sweden has a lot to offer, but we are here to push for urban smart cities and smart transportation solutions,” said Hafstrom. Scania already has a truck factory in Narasapura and is also expected to start a bus factory in the coming months.
The Swedish Gas Association had proposed biogas as fuel for the city’s Volvo buses as a pilot project way back in 2010, said Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board chairperson Anjum Parwez.
“The pilot project was to use biogas from the Hebbal treatment plant and the Swedish government was to fund the study. An MoU was submitted,” Parwez said.
The project involved exchange of expertise in the area of wastewater treatment and biogas production, and proposed to involve the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation and the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, presently managed by Parwez.
Since the state government’s approval was necessary, the MoU was sent to the Indian Institute of Science for vetting. “There has been no further development,” Parwez said.
He said the BWSSB is establishing 11 new wastewater treatment plants, of which three will use biological treatment. “While one plant in Koramangala and Challaghatta Valley is envisaged for power generation, the other two in Kengeri (capacity of 60 million litres per day) and Bellandur Amanikere (90 MLD) can be considered for utilization of biogas as fuel,” Parwez said.
‘We’re Here to Stay’
Swedish Ambassador Harold Sandberg said there are 135 Swedish companies in India, with Bangalore being a major hub. “We see that they are very confident about investing in India. They will continue to hire and invest here,” he said. Ikea, the world’s largest furniture retailer, is seriously looking at Bangalore to have its first retail outlet in the country. Sandberg said reforms to goods and services taxes and lifecycle costs in the tendering process could improve trade relations between the two countries. Swedish investments in India, till 2013, are pegged at $1.8 billion.