The partnership between the London boroughs of Croydon, Merton, Sutton and Kingston-upon-Thames is looking to procure treatment facilities to deal with an estimated 222,000 tonnes of residual waste a year by 2014.
The Partnership is not prescribing any specific waste treatment technology or solution
South London Waste Partnership
It received £112.9 million in PFI credits from Defra for the project in March 2009 (see letsrecycle.com story) – making it the first London waste project to receive PFI money since 2002.
In the notice, which was issued today (May 13), the council leading the procurement process, Croydon, states that the aim of the contract is to “enable the partnership to minimise its exposure to landfill tax and achieve its Landfill Allowance Trading Scheme diversion targets throughout the duration of the contract”.
It explains that the Partnership aims to make three sites available for the project – one in Croydon, one in Merton and one in Kingston – but stresses that bidders are free to propose their own sites.
And, it also stresses that “the Partnership is not prescribing any specific waste treatment technology or solution.”
In its PFI funding application, the Partnership's reference technology was to build two 106,500 tonne-a-year capacity mechanical biological treatment facilities, and one energy-from-waste plant with combined heat and power, also with a 106,500 tonne-a-year capacity.
Residual waste
The notice reveals that the Partnership expects the amount of residual waste per annum to have fallen to 200,000 tonnes by 2023 and to remain at that level until the end of the contract.
While it does not guarantee tonnages, the notice does add that “bidders are permitted to propose facilities that are capable of treating third party waste sourced by the Partnership.”
It also explains that it is “likely” that bidders will also be responsible for securing 'off-take' contracts for products produced by the treatment process, citing electricity as an example.
Information day
To get the procurement process underway, the Partnership is holding a bidder information day on Monday (May 16), which interested parties can attend, and it has invited potential bidders to submit a completed pre-qualification questionnaire by June 16.
With between three and eight bidders expected for the contract, the Partnership has said that it hopes to name a preferred bidder in January 2011 and achieve financial close on the deal in March 2011, with the aim of having facilities up and running by 2014/15.
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