|
 |
Mammoth waste management project in Manchester
| | A Private Public Partnership is investing millions in establishing a waste management system in Manchester. "This is the most far-reaching contract in the European waste management industry," said Neil Swannick, Chairman of the waste management authority for the metropolitan area of Manchester, the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA). By 2015 a complete network of recycling plants is to be set up, including several mechanical-biological waste treatment plants (MBWTs). The existing 25 recycling centres for household refuse will be modernised and integrated as part of the project.
By Mareike Kuhn
Talks and negotiations went on for over two years and then there were also delays caused by difficulties raising sufficient collateral. At the beginning of April last year, Neil Swannick, Chairman of the waste management authority for the metropolitan area of Manchester, the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA), announced that the disposal agreement between the GMWDA and the private consortium Viridor Laing would be concluded within a few weeks. What had been the end of April then became June and then December. Now, however, the financing for the waste disposal contract was finally cut and dried.
“This is the most far-reaching contract in the European waste management industry – and it is normal that postponements occur when it comes to concluding contracts of this size,” said Swannick. And it is no wonder because 640 million pounds sterling (715 million euros) had to be financially secured in the process. The amount will be invested in the building and maintenance of an integrated waste management system for treating and disposing of the household refuse that accumulates in the area of Greater Manchester. By 2015 a complete network of recycling plants is to be set up. The existing 25 recycling centres for household refuse will be modernised and integrated as part of the project.
Photo: GMWDA
The mechanical-biological treatment plant in Stockport
German companies building five MBWT plants
Five mechanical-biological waste treatment plants (MBWTs) are going to be built to make Manchester a "world-class city" in terms of waste management, as the GMWDA put it. In doing so, the British authority is counting on German technology: the plant engineering company Haase Energietechnik, based in Neumünster, Germany, will be constructing three of the MBWTs. “This is the largest contract in the waste management scene in Europe,” explained Jörg Stockinger at a trade conference at the end of April. Since 2004 Haase has been series-building plants for the mechanical-biological treatment of residual waste that include anaerobic fermentation and a subsequent aeration stage. The plants are to have an annual throughput capacity of between 90,000 and 130,000 tons of material, according to Stockinger.
The other two plants are to be implemented in Manchester by BTA International. According to BTA, the first MBWT plant will be completed next year. Over 63,000 tons of the organic fraction of the household waste are to be treated at the location. The GMWDA intends to invest approximately 22 million euros in the plant, which is based on the BTA process of hydromechanical waste treatment with a subsequent biological stage for anaerobic fermentation. The MBWT plant is to be powered by an integrated co-generation plant. Construction of the second plant is scheduled to begin this year and it is due to be commissioned in 2011, according to BTA. The company also disclosed that the order value of this MBWT, which is to treat 110,000 tons of mixed residual waste per year, is approximately 33.5 million euros.
Apart from the MBWT plant, which is to treat around 500,000 tons of wastes per year, a “Waste-to-Energy” plant, four composting plants, each capable of handling 44,000 tons of waste per year, two plants for treating garden waste and a sorting plant are to be constructed, according to information from the British construction company Costain, that has closed a contract to the value of 442 million euros with Viridor Laing and is involved in the building projects.
Network of 44 waste treatment plants
The project forges links between the GMWDA and its contractual partners Viridor Waste Management, one of the largest private waste management companies, and the project developer John Laing for a 25-year period and is estimated to be one of the largest “Private Finance Initiative” projects in the waste management business. According to GMWDA sources, the total value of the contract for the private waste disposal company Viridor is approximately 4.2 billion euros.
Source: Wikipedia
The waste management project in the Greater Manchester region
The Public Private Partnership is being supported by the European Investment Bank to the tune of 206 million euros. Additional funds totalling hundreds of millions are being jointly provided by the Bank of Ireland, the Lloyds Banking Group and the UK Department of Finance, among others. The Infrastructure Finance Unit of the department was recently created in order to make PFI projects possible. In addition, Defra, the UK Department for the Environment, will also be supporting the project with 142 million euros, announced Hilary Benn, Minister for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.
By means of this comprehensive network of 44 different waste treatment plants, the GMWDA – according to itself, the largest waste disposal authority in the British Isles – is aiming to recycle and compost half of the 1.3 million tons of waste that accumulates within its area each year by the year 2015. Thus the UK will come one major step closer to achieving its national objective of reducing the number of landfill sites by the year 2020, said Benn with satisfaction.
| |
| | |
