The list, which is to be presented to the council's cabinet for approval on September 14, was drawn up by the Norfolk Waste Project Board and its announcement follows a series of delays and alterations to plans to develop long-term waste treatment capacity in the region.
The timetable for this important project, which will reduce our reliance on landfill and help us tackle climate change, is progressing well
Cllr Ian Monson, Norfolk county council
The project, which is known as ‘Contract B', is being developed to process over 155,000 tonnes-a-year of residual household waste from Norfolk. The council has indicated it will offer a site on the Saddlebow Industrial Estate in Kings Lynn to potential bidders.
The council, which received £92 million of PFI funding in March this year, opted to change its reference technology from mechanical biological treatment (MBT) with anaerobic digestion to combined heat and power due to concerns over finding secure outlets for solid recovered fuel produced by the MBT (see letsrecycle.com story).
The four recommended bidders are:
– A consortium comprising London-based Cory Environmental Management and American energy-from-waste specialists Wheelabrator Technologies
– AmeyCespa, a consortium of Oxford-based services company Amey UK and Spanish construction firm Cespa SA
– German energy-from-waste giant MVV Umwelt GmbH
– Resources from Waste, a consortium comprising utilities company United Utilities, construction company Laing O'Rourke and equity investor John Laing Investments.
Ian Monson, cabinet member for waste and the environment at Norfolk county council and chairman of the Norfolk Waste Project Board, said: “The timetable for this important project, which will reduce our reliance on landfill and help us tackle climate change, is progressing well.”
“The pre-qualification process generated considerable interest from the global waste management industry and, following a thorough financial, legal and technical evaluation of ten applicants, we have identified a strong shortlist of four high quality organisations all of which have robust financial and waste management credentials,” he added.
Subject to Cabinet approval, shortlisted bidders will be invited to submit detailed solutions for the proposed waste treatment facility by January 2010. A further shortlist of two candidates will then be made in the summer, prior to the selection of a preferred bidder in October 2010. Contracts are expected to be awarded in March 2011.
Contract A
Contract B represents the second phase of Norfolk's long-term waste treatment plans and was designed to complement Contract A – a proposal slated to cater for between 90,000 and 150,000 tonnes of residual waste a year.
However, in July this year, the council opted to abandon its plans for Contract A due the costs of the project being increased by the credit crunch. The plan would have seen preferred bidder Sustainable Resource Management develop MBT, AD and composting facilities at Costessey near Norwich (see letsrecycle.com story).
Minutes of a council cabinet scrutiny meeting held on July 28 show that the council intends to alter the parameters of Contract B so “it could instead take more [residual waste] from year one” to make up for the shortfall caused by scrapping the Contract A option.
Register for free to comment