"Although the Authority is disappointed to not yet have commenced the new contract we are very pleased with the continued progress being made and believe that we will be in a good position to sign the contract early next month"
Councillor Neil Swannick, Chair of the GMWDA
Manchester, England, UK: The Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) announced yesterday that agreement has been reached with Viridor Laing on all major commercial principles relating to its 25 year waste PFI contract. However the expected financial closure date has been put back to 6 June 2008 to allow for the conclusion by Viridor Laing of its financial and contractual arrangements.
Councillor Neil Swannick, Chair of the Authority commented:
“Although the Authority is disappointed to not yet have commenced the new contract we are very pleased with the continued progress being made and believe that we will be in a good position to sign the contract early next month”.
GMWDA says that excellent progress continues to be made on obtaining planning approvals for waste management facilities required under the contract. A central government decision is also awaited on the planning application by Ineos ChlorVinyls for a Runcorn combined heat and power plant that will take the solid recovered fuel (SRF) output from the mechanical biological treatment (MBT) facilities to be constructed under the PFI contract.
Viridor's proposed Rochdale integrated waste management facility
INEOS ChlorVinyls submitted an application for a proposed new Combined Heat and Power (CHP) facility at Weston Point, Runcorn, to the Department for Trade and Industry in January 2007.
The plant would use the latest 'Energy from Waste' technology to burn SRF derived from domestic refuse to generate heat and power for use at INEOS's neighbouring manufacturing operation at the Runcorn Site.
Councillor Michael Young, Vice Chair of the Authority said:
“We now have firmly in our grasp an excellent solution for dealing with our waste, and a very clear timetable that funders consider is deliverable in order to achieve financial close by early June”.
The Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) is the largest of six English waste disposal authorities that were created under the Local Government Act 1985 to carry out the waste management functions and duties of the Metropolitan County Councils after their abolition in 1986. The Authority provides waste disposal services for over 958,000 households in Greater Manchester.
Mike Hellings, Managing Director of Viridor Waste Management said:
“Viridor Laing is satisfied that good headway is being made with the completion of the project agreement and the excellent planning results. We share the GMWDA’s disappointment not to be commencing operations in May as anticipated and remain fully committed to achieving full contractual close on June 6th.”