VIJAYAWADA: Owing to poor response from the investors, the State government, which had planned to commission waste-to-energy plants in certain urban local bodies (ULBs), is now in the process of setting up waste-to-compost units. The Swachha Andhra Corporation (SAC) is already in talks with various firms, including a few from European countries, for the same, and is expected to finalise the developers by next month. For effective municipal solid waste management (MSWM), the SAC had planned 10 waste-to-energy plants - across the State - in which waste from 61 ULBs was to be processed to generate energy. These 10 plants are in various stages of being commissioned.
The officials also planned to set up a few more waste-to-energy units in the remaining ULBs and announced the same. But, that proposal had to be dropped as no firm had come forward to set up waste-to-energy units. “The firms said that it was not feasible for them to set up waste-to-energy plants in areas where the quantum of solid wastes generated is low. So, the response was poor, and we decided to go for waste-to-compost plants,” said an official of Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MA & UD) department.
Following the decision, officials of SAC have invited request for proposals (RFPs) from interested firms to get waste-to-compost plants installed in 11 ULBs in Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam and Anantapur districts, and is in the process of identifying the developer. “We will open the bids after March 23. The eligible firm will be given the letter of award (LoA).
The developer has to establish the unit in a year’s time,” the official said. The projects will be taken up in design-build-operate-transfer format, under public private partnership (PPP) model.Of these 11 units, which will process the municipal solid wastes into compost, four each will be set up in Krishna and Prakasam districts, Anantapur and Guntur districts will have two and one units respectively.
A look at the new plan
Waste-to-compost units to come up in
Krishna district: At Machilipatnam, Gudivada, Vuyyuru and Pedana
Municipal solid waste generated (tonne per day): 83, 55, 18 and 16 respectively)
Prakasam district: At Ongole, Chimakurthy, Addanki and Kandukur
Solid waste generated (tonne per day): 120, 13, 16 and 21 respectively
Guntur district Repalle
Solid waste generated (tonne per day): 25
Anantapur district: At Hindpur and Kadiri
Solid waste generated (tonne per day): 50 and 31