Two on shortlist for 800m SWaMP2008 contract

Northern Ireland's Southern Waste Management Partnership has confirmed today (November 29) that there are only two bidders left vying for its 25-year, £800 million residual waste treatment contract.

In January, the group, which is known as SWaMP2008, reduced the number of consortiums bidding for the deal to four (see letsrecycle.co story). And, today, the partnership revealed that this number has since reduced to two. These are: 

• A consortium led by Greenstar and including Blackpool-based renewable energy firm BioGen Power, German MBT specialists Strabag Umweltenlagen and mechanical heat treatment company Orchid Environmental;
• Quinn Group, the Irish owners of Quinn Glass, working with Italian environmental engineers and MBT technology providers Entsorga.

A spokeswoman for SWaMP 2008 told letsrecycle.com that the two other remaining bidders – Northern Ireland Sustainable Solutions (NISS) and a Biffa-led consortium – had chosen to withdraw.

NISS was a consortium between consultancy Cyril Sweett Investments, Spanish waste treatment company Urbaser and construction contractors John Sisk & Son. It pulled out in May for undisclosed reasons.

Meanwhile, a Biffa-led consortium, which also involved Irish waste management company Natural World Products and Spanish-owned anaerobic digestion and composting specialists Ros Roca Environmental – pulled out in late summer because its owners took over Greenstar, meaning that it effectively was bidding twice for the same work.

Deal

The lengthy and complex competitive tendering process is now at the stage of discussing detailed solutions. Further dialogue will take place in the new year before final evaluation and the appointment of a preferred bidder in 2011.

Graham Byrne, chief officer of SWaMP2008, said that good progress was being made.

He said: “We have completed the initial evaluation of the detailed submissions from these two bidders. Each company has submitted proposals on how they would approach the project, should they be successful. Having evaluated these submissions, we will provide feedback and continue with the process. Due to the highly confidential and competitive nature of the dialogue process we are not in a position to reveal any details of either bid at this stage.

“We are looking for the right solution for the region, using technology to meet the waste management needs of the area, while also continuing to support increased recycling and a more sustainable approach to resources.

“Obviously we are also looking for a cost-effective solution for the eight councils in the SWaMP2008 region. We must ensure that whatever technical solution is proposed will also offer long term value for money for local ratepayers.”

Confirming the shortlist, chairman of the Joint Committee of SWaMP2008, councillor Jack Patterson said: “In the new year, we will complete the final stage of the competitive dialogue process. Following evaluation and analysis of the technical, legal and financial aspects of each bid, we look forward to appointing a preferred bidder, with whom we will then work closely to get this vitally important infrastructure in place.”

Task

The winning bidder will be tasked with finding alternative ways of dealing with domestic waste in order to avoid sending it to landfill. Infrastructure required includes that to sort and treat waste, with a view to increase reuse, recycling and producing sustainable energy.

The Partnership said it could not provide details of the technology being proposed by the two remaining bidders.

SWaMP2008 is a partnership of eight district councils located within the Southern Region of Northern Ireland including Armagh city & borough council; Banbridge district council; Cookstown district council; Craigavon borough council; Dungannon & South Tyrone borough council; Fermanagh district council; Newry & Mourne district council; and, Omagh district council.

It is one of three sub-regional waste management groups created to more effectively manage Northern Ireland's waste. It was originally called SWaMP when it was formed in 2000 and changed its name to SWaMP2008 following formal incorporation in August 2008.