Six in Running for £500m Northern Irish Contract
Wednesday 08 July 2009 Councils News
A partnership of seven councils in north-west Northern Ireland has shortlisted six bidders for its 25-year, £500 million waste management contract.
The North West Region Waste Management Group (NWRWMG) - which represents councils in Ballymoney, Coleraine, Derry, Limavady, Magherafelt, Moyle and Strabane - is hoping to develop mechanical biological treatment (MBT) and "energy recovery" facilities, using technology such as gasification or autoclaving. However, a spokeswoman told letsrecycle.com that the consortium had ruled out incineration.
The NWRWMG aims to cater for a combined total of 200,000 tonnes of waste generated each year in the region and improve its existing recycling rate of 34% to 50% by 2020.
The shortlist for the contract is: High Wycombe-based Biffa Waste Services; a joint bid from utilities firm United Utilities and Londonderry-based waste management and civil engineering company Brickkiln Waste; Irish-owned Greenstar Holding (Greenstar UK); a consortium of investment company One51 PLC and waste arm of civil services company VT Group, VT Environmental Engineering; Irish-based multinational giant Quinn Group; and, waste company Shanks Group.
Next stage
Under the next stage of the process, bidders will now be invited to identify proposed solutions for NWRWMG's waste, and the consortium said it was open to suggestions.
The NWRWMG intends to award the contract to the successful bidder before the end of 2010 and plans to have treatment facilities fully operational by 2014.
Councillor Evelyne Robinson, chairman of the NWRWMG Joint Committee, said: "We are delighted with the number and calibre of bidders who are competing in this process. All have demonstrated that they have the economic and financial standing, experience and technical capability to provide the northwest region with a solution that will assist us to meet European targets in a manner that is sustainable."
The announcement of the NWRWMG shortlist comes one week after another Northern Irish waste consortium, which represents councils in the east of the country, arc21, announced it had named three companies still in the running for its own long-term waste management contract.