These facilities will be delivered in partnership with the private sector. arc21’s Residual Waste Project is one of the largest public procurement exercises conducted in Northern Ireland’s history and is valued at £1bn over the lifetime of the project.

We commenced the procurement process in September 2008 with the formal publication of the OJEU Notice. The procurement process adopted is known as the “competitive dialogue” process and is relatively complex with various phases. This is reflected in the indicative timetable (see below). Completion of the process is marked with the awarding of the contract which is anticipated to be late in 2013.

The time taken to obtain the relevant regulatory permissions, including planning, will have a major influence in determining when the actual facilities will be built and become operational.  It is anticipated that all the permanent facilities will be operational by late 2018.

It is intended that the management of the residual waste through this contract will commence in 2014 using interim arrangements whilst the permanent facilities are being developed.