The North London Waste Authority has set out two long-lists of bidders for the waste services and fuel use elements of its 30-year waste management contract, which is set to see up to £600 million worth of waste infrastructure developed in the capital.
We are delighted to have received such a substantial market interest, including pre-qualification submissions from very many leading waste and energy companies
Cllr Clyde Loakes, chair of the NLWA
The statutory waste body represents waste disposal for seven North London boroughs and the deal is expected to be worth in the region of £4 billion and intended to divert 400,000 tonnes of waste from landfill by 2020.
The North London Waste Authority (NLWA) was awarded £258.4 million – the largest ever single allocation of waste PFI credits by the government- in March 2010 to help towards the capital costs of developing waste management infrastructure in the region (see letsrecycle.com story).
The shortlists announced yesterday (July 1) are split into the seven bidders vying to deliver waste services for the NLWA, and also a contract to process solid recovered fuel (SRF) produced by waste infrastructure developed under the waste PFI contract.
The shortlist for the waste services element of the contract, which is expected to be signed in 2016, is:
• Waste management firm Biffa;
• A consortium of Swedish engineering firm Skanska and Spanish waste management firm FCC;
• Waste management firm Shanks;
• A joint bid between waste management company SITA UK and private equity firm Catalyst Lend Lease;
• A consortium bid by Spanish waste firm Urbaser SA, Shanks and energy-from-waste specialist Covanta Energy;
• A joint bid by waste and recycling company Veolia ES Aurora, investment firm John Laing Investments and construction specialist Costain;
• Taunton-based waste management firm Viridor Waste Management Ltd
The reference documents for the PFI funding included delivery of two MBTs, a combined heat and power facility, two materials recycling facilities (MRFs), both composting and anaerobic digestion facilities and four new and refurbished civic amenity sites. However, the NLWA has stressed it is still technology neutral.
And, the successful bidder for the waste services part of the contract is likely to be sold the NLWA's waste services firm LondonWaste, which carries out the statutory body's waste services and become a fully-owned subsidiary after the NWLA bought SITA UK's 50% stake in the company in November 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story).
Fuel
Under the separate fuel use contract, the NLWA is seeking a prospective bidder to deliver an outlet for a projected 320,000 tonnes-a-year of SRF, which is set to be produced by waste infrastructure developed in the region.
The seven-bidders contesting the fuel use contract are:
• Cement giant CEMEX UK;
• Covanta Energy;
• A consortium of energy firm E.ON Energy from Waste AG and energy-from-waste incineration specialist Wheelabrator Technologies;
• The SITA UK-Lend Lease consortium;
• Renewable energy firm Scottish and Southern Energy Generation;
• A joint bid by Veolia ES Aurora, John Laing Investments Ltd and Costain;
• A partnership between Viridor and technology provider Keppel Seghers Engineering
Commenting on the shortlists, councillor Clyde Loakes, chair of the NLWA, said: “We are delighted to have received such a substantial market interest, including pre-qualification submissions from very many of the leading waste and energy companies that are active in the UK and European markets.
“That interest rightly reflects the importance of the North London procurement in market terms and the steps that the Authority has taken to bring forward a highly deliverable project.”
The shortlist of bidders is set to be cut further in December 2010, according to the NLWA's planned timeframe for delivering the project. In April 2010, the NLWA claimed it was “confident” that it would meet is projected 29-month delivery timetable (see letsrecycle.com story).
Cllr Loakes added: “Bidders will need to develop proposals that are second to none in terms of delivering high quality environmental solutions and that are affordable and represent value for money. Those that do so have good prospects of securing a valuable and high profile contract.”
The NLWA represents the London councils of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest.
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