£1bn Waste Project to Create 600 Construction Jobs - 15 January 2009

arc21, the waste management group for 11 councils in the east of Northern Ireland, has released details of the consortia shortlisted to deliver major new waste facilities for the region.

The project, valued at up to £1bn over its life-cycle, is one of the largest public procurement projects undertaken in Northern Ireland's history.

The six shortlisted consortia are bidding to build up to two Mechanical Biological Treatment facilities to help sort waste more effectively and an Energy from Waste (EfW) plant to convert unrecyclable waste into heat and electricity. The facilities are needed to help arc21’s constituent councils meet strict new EU landfill diversion targets.

With the first MBT due for completion in 2012 and the EfW by 2014, the new facilities will also deliver around 90 permanent operational jobs. The shortlisted consortia are a mix of European, US and UK-based waste specialists which include a number of Northern Ireland-based construction firms and consultancies. They are:

• Covanta Energy Ltd
• Greenstar Holdings Ltd / E.On Energy from Waste AG
• Indaver John Laing
• SITA Holdings UK Ltd
• The Shanks Wheelabrator Consortium
• Veolia ES Aurora Ltd

Welcoming the completion of the pre-qualification short listing process, Councillor Hubert Nicholl, Chairman of arc 21’s Joint Committee, said:

“At present households and businesses send 70% of waste to landfill. Apart from being environmentally unsustainable, failure to tackle this problem could potentially lead to hefty EU infraction fines.

“Although recycling rates in the arc21 region have already jumped from 7.5% to 30% since 2003 and are on target to reach 50% by 2020, it’s not practical or possible to recycle everything. To manage that waste which can’t be recycled, this project will deliver modern waste facilities to turn waste into clean, renewable energy that could provide enough electricity for up to 40,000 homes every year.

“The new facilities will help the arc21 region handle its waste in a more environmentally-responsible manner, diversify Northern Ireland’s energy supplies, help meet the Province’s renewable energy targets and give a much-needed boost to the local construction industry.”

Although new technology for Northern Ireland, EfW and MBT are commonplace throughout Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and Holland, where they operate alongside some of the highest recycling rates in the world.

The six shortlisted bidders will move onto the next stage of the process, which involves preparation of a more detailed and technically-advanced submission.

The preferred bidder is expected to be appointed in Spring 2010.

For further details click here.

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