MPIC likely to bag P22-b waste-to-energy project
By Alena Mae S. Flores – May 29, 2019 at 08:20 pm
from manilastandard.net
Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is optimistic of bagging a P22-billion waste-to-energy project in Payatas, Quezon City after the local government unit did not receive a competing proposal, a top executive said Wednesday.
MPIC chairman Manuel Pangilinan said the consortium was just waiting for the approval of incoming Mayor Joy Belmonte to proceed with the project.
“We are just waiting for Mayor Belmonte… I think it is already okay with the city council,” Pangilinan said.
MPIC said no competing proposals were submitted to challenge MPIC’s application for a solid waste management facility in Quezon City. He said the consortium was expecting to receive a notice of award for the project within the first half.
The local government of Quezon City did not receive other offers challenging the consortium’s proposal on Feb. 4―the deadline for the submission of bids.
“Our plan is to develop a waste treatment facility that will convert up to 3,000 metric tons of municipal waste into electricity each day in a power plant with 36 megawatts of installed capacity,” MPIC president and chief executive Jose Ma. Lim said.
Pangilinan said the waste-to-energy project could be replicated in other cities and municipalities and talks were ongoing with other local government officials.
“Yes, we don’t want to announce until this is bedded down. It will be a template for other cities, municipalities,” he said.
The Quezon City government’s public-private partnership selection committee endorsed to outgoing Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista the proposal of the consortium of Metro Pacific, Covanta Energy Llc. and Macquarie Capital Ltd.
The next step is a request for the Quezon City Council to grant authority to the mayor in signing the contract with the consortium.
The projected output of the pioneering project is twice the current electricity requirements of the local government. The concession period covers 35 years.
Once the consortium is awarded the project, the development and construction will take three to four years.
The infrastructure conglomerate earlier said it was looking at creating a portfolio of waste-to-energy facilities with a generating capacity of 300 MW in the coming years.
It is also conducting studies for a similar waste-to-energy project in Pampanga.
Metro Pacific’s unit Metpower Venture Partners Holdings Inc. signed agreements to design, construct and operate biogas facilities for fresh fruits producer Dole Philippines in November 2018.
The biogas facilities aim to complement Dole Philippines’ existing operation by processing organic fruit waste from its Surallah and Polomolok facilities in South Cotabato and harnessing renewable energy in the form of biogas.
The planned $1 billion biogas facilities will produce about 50,000 megawatt-hours of clean energy annually to be used by Dole Philippines for power generation and fossil fuel substitute. The facility is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2020.
Metro Pacific has investments in hospitals, power generation, toll roads, logistics and water utility.
