The Belgian waste management company is building the £500 million, 595,000 tonnes per year capacity EfW plant as part of an ‘integrated waste management facility’.
Indaver has progressed its project amid a scramble to build waste treatment infrastructure in the region. Essex has seen the failure of the Tovi Eco Park in Basildonl, which means many tonnes of the county’s household waste are currently sent to landfill. And, East London’s long-term waste disposal contract also comes to an end in the mid-2020s.
Other EfW facilities proposed in the East London/Essex region include Viridor’s plant in Tilbury and Cory’s second facility in Belvedere, south east London.
Construction
Indaver, though, is progressing with construction prior to learning the outcome of any procurement process.
The company announced it had appointed HZI as its EPC contractor in May at a ceremony on the site involving members of the Belgian royal family (see letsrecycle.com story).
This week, an Indaver spokesperson told letsrecycle.com that excavation of the main site had now been completed, with around 2.5 million tonnes of soil removed and used for restoration works in a neighbouring quarry.
HZI then began piling works on 17 October, the spokesperson said, with the first series of piles being those that will form the waste storage bunker. HZI is using two rigs for the piling, with a third due to arrive later in November.
Work is also continuing to turn the temporary access road from the A120 into a permanent fixture and to complete the formation of lagoons that will capture rainwater from the site, the spokesperson said.
Indaver expects the EfW facility, the company’s first of its kind in the UK, to begin commissioning in early 2025 and be fully operational by the end of the same year.
‘Spectacular view’
Gareth Jones, Indaver’s project development specialist, said: “We’re afforded a spectacular view of the construction activities from our information hub that we installed overlooking the site.”
It’s great to see construction works commencing after the tremendous amount of excavation and stabilisation works that have taken place
– Gareth Jones, Indaver’s project development specialist
Mr Jones continued: “There’s always plenty happening and it’s great to see construction works commencing after the tremendous amount of excavation and stabilisation works that have taken place.
“In fact, it’s quite easy to lose track of time whilst standing on the balcony to watch the work going on below.”
Integrated
The proposed integrated facility comprises the EfW plant, a de-inking and paper pulping facility, an anaerobic digestion plant, a materials recycling facility, and a mechanical biological treatment facility.
Last year, Indaver indicated its intentions to drop its plans for the paper facility, suggesting it was no longer commercially viable. However, in February, Essex county council voted to force Indaver to follow through with the full plans and for each element of the integrated facility to be operational by the end of 2026 (see letsrecycle.com story).
The county council formally launched a tender for an initial seven-year deal worth £62 million per year for the disposal of 350,000 tonnes of residual waste per year in August and Indaver was expected to be one of several companies to bid.
However, the council unexpectedly cancelled its procurement process in October, citing “technical issues”, and said it would relaunch the invitation to tender in early December (see letsrecycle.com story).
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