Manchester, 27 June: Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority (GMWDA) announced on Friday the creation of an additional senior post of Treasurer and Deputy Clerk to the Authority, which will be filled by John Bland.
Mr Bland has been heavily involved in the procurement of the Greater Manchester PFI (Private Finance Initiative) Contract as part of his duties at Oldham Council, where he was Director of Finance and ICT. His duties there including being Treasurer to GMWDA. He has been Treasurer at GMWDA since September 2002 and to date, has had to combine responsibilities at Oldham - being the lead district within GMWDA - with those of Treasurer to GMWDA.
The contract being procured by GMWDA is the largest and most complex waste management contract of its kind in Western Europe, which will see a major capital investment by a consortium headed by preferred bidder, Viridor Waste Management and John Laing Investments (Viridor Laing).
John Bland, GMWDA's new Treasurer and Deputy Clerk
With the new appointment, the Authority is expecting to improve its position in managing the implementation and transitional phases of the contract, as well as aiding the Authority to "position itself appropriately in the emerging sub-regional governance agenda".
Councillor Neil Swannick, Chair of the Authority commented:
“We are very happy to be welcoming John into the post of Treasurer and Deputy Clerk to the Authority. John is a highly valued member of the team and it will be great for us to take full advantage of his expertise on a full time basis as the contract is signed and becomes operational.”
Oldham Council Leader Howard Sykes said:
“John has given sterling and dedicated service to the Council as man and boy, literally. By any measure his is a great success story of hard work and personal achievement having joined the Council as a teenage trainee and ending up as its top financial officer.
“His challenge now is to take financial charge of the biggest waste disposal contract in Europe worth billions of pounds to help make possible Greater Manchester’s ambition to become a world centre for environmentally sustainable solutions to waste disposal."
Progress of the waste PFI contract
In a separately issued statement, GMWDA says that it is continuing to make significant progress towards signing its 25-year PFI contract with Viridor Waste Management and John Laing Investments (Viridor Laing).
Viridor Laing and their bankers are currently carrying out their funding approvals processes. Following their successful outcome and the completion of contracts, financial close can then take place.
Councillor Neil Swannick, Chair of the GMWDA commented:
“We are pleased with the progress we’ve made on the commercial aspects of contract negotiations. Viridor Laing’s funders are now completing their approval process. We are ready to sign the contract as soon as this is completed.”
Mike Hellings, Managing Director of Viridor Waste Management said:
“The completion of the project agreement and full documentation has been a considerable task in itself, and we are pleased with the excellent planning results to date. Viridor Laing remains fully committed to achieving full contractual close as soon as possible on completion of funding approval.”