The Authority has formally invited proposals from the waste management sector for how to deal with solid recovered fuel produced from mixed household waste by new mechanical biological treatment (MBT) plants.
” We will look to get the infrastructure built quickly and hope to have plants in place for 2010. “
-Tim Judson, GMWDA
The plants are to be established as part of the city's multi-billion pound 25-year Private Finance Initiative waste contract, which is to be run by either SITA UK or Viridor Waste Management (see letsrecycle.com story).
In a call for bids issued this week, the disposal authority said it would require outlets every year for between 300,000 and 900,000 tonnes of solid recovered fuel (SRF), sometimes known as refuse-derived fuel.
PFI
The invitation for SRF proposals coincided with Monday's return of detailed bids from SITA and Viridor for the main PFI contract, which is supported by 100m of Defra PFI credits. The PFI contract will see at least two MBT plants built to handle residual waste from Manchester's 958,000 households.
Tim Judson, procurement director at GMWDA, told letsrecycle.com this week that the authority had not ruled out an RDF plant being built by the company that eventually runs the PFI contract.
He said: “The GMWDA is now exploring a twin-track approach, running the integrated waste PFI contract procurement alongside a separate SRF procurement. But we remain equally comfortable with our contractor sourcing the outlet for SRF themselves.”
Mr Judson added that Greater Manchester would consider partnering up with other local authorities to build a plant to take SRF.
One potential partner, Manchester-based Peel Environmental, saw cold water poured on its hopes this week, with Cheshire planners rejecting their proposal for a large resource recovery park on the Manchester Ship Canal (see letsrecycle.com story). The park was to include a plant to process refuse-derived fuel.
PFI
| Related links: |
As for the main PFI waste contract, the Disposal Authority is to analyse the SITA and Viridor bids before announcing a preferred bidder by the end of January 2007. Mr Judson said that he expected financial close by June 2007 – when the new contractor will immediately take over disposal responsibilities for Manchester's nine local authorities.
He added: “We estimate that plant build will be between 18 month and three years. We will look to get the infrastructure built quickly and hope to have plants in place for 2010.”
Register for free to comment