Lakeside Energy from Waste Ltd, now a joint venture between waste firms Grundon and Viridor (see letsrecycle.com story), is to develop the 400,000 tonne facility near Slough.
 (Above, pictured left to right:) Grundon MD Richard Skehens and Viridor MD Mike Hellings with Toru Nomura of the Itochu Corporation and Hajime Tejima of Takuma Co agree the engineering contract for the Colnbrook incinerator (artist's impression below)  |
The company has now finalised financial arrangements with investors led by the Bank of Ireland. The confirmation coincided with the signing of the engineering procurement contract with Japanese consortium Itochu/Takuma.
Construction is being carried out by Edmund Nuttall Ltd and has already begun, with the installation of the weighbridge. Commissioning of the EfW plant is scheduled for mid 2008.
Andrew Hartley, the Bank of Ireland's head of infrastructure (Global Project Finance), said: “Lakeside reinforces our commitment to targeting the environmental and waste sectors for project finance. In the UK particularly, as well as Ireland and elsewhere, huge investment is needed to establish environmentally better disposal routes to landfill for domestic and industrial waste, and the Bank of Ireland is keen to play a leading role in this investment.”
Richard Skehens and Mike Hellings, managing directors of Grundon and Viridor respectively, said the Bank of Ireland had already been involved with the project for a number of years and its continued support for the project was “most welcome”.
The directors added: “We would also like to thank our financial advisors Ernst & Young and our lawyers Messrs Manches & Lawrence Graham, who have consistently offered our project team sound advice and support.”
Once up and running, the Colnbrook plant will be of some strategic importance for the South of England, particularly with its location close to West London and the shortage of landfill in the region.
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