The Quezon City government granted an original proponent status to the consortium of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Covanta Energy Llc and Macquarie Group Ltd. for a proposed P15-billion waste-to-energy project.
Metro Pacific said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the unsolicited project would involve the construction of an integrated solid waste management facility capable of processing and converting up to 3,000 metric tons per day of Quezon City’s municipal solid waste into 42 megawatts of renewable energy.
This will be enough to power 60,000 to 90,000 homes. The project will be undertaken through a joint venture between the LGU of Quezon City and the consortium.
Metro Pacific said as the original proponent of the project, the consortium would have the exclusive rights to enter into detailed negotiations with the QC LGU.
Upon successful completion of negotiations, the project will be subjected to a competitive challenge consistent with government regulations.
“The volume of solid waste as a result of economic growth and urbanization has become a challenge for local governments to ensure effective and sustainable management of waste,” said Metro Pacific president and chief executive Jose Ma. Lim.
“An integrated solid waste management facility is a sustainable approach to society’s use of resources to reduce the amount of waste that must be placed in landfills for disposal while being environmentally responsive,” Lim said.
Once the consortium is awarded the project, the development and construction would take three to four years.
The project will be funded through a combination of debt and equity.
The city government said the project would provide an environmental, sustainable, long-term, world-class waste management solution to eliminate the need for landfilling and will provide QC with other important fiscal and socio-economic benefits.
Metro Pacific said it was pursuing waste-to-energy projects in the country to address issues on solid waste management and increased demand for electricity.
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.
Metro Pacific currently has investments in hospitals, power generation, tollroads, logistics and water utility.