Mumbai: BMC invites global EoI for waste-to-energy plant at Deonar

The civic body has been trying to develop waste-to-energy plants since the last seven years. File pic

After awarding a contract for a waste-to-energy plant, which would process 600 metric tonnes of garbage daily at the Deonar dumping ground, the BMC has now invited a global expression of interest (EoI) for a second plant that would process 1,200 to 1,800 metric tonnes of garbage daily. The corporation has been trying to develop waste-to-energy plants since the last seven years at the city's biggest dumping ground.

About three years back, the civic body changed its policy for the same and decided to set up smaller plants at the dumping ground.

"As per the EoI, the details of the plant are available on the corporation's website. The EoI applications should reach us between January 22 and February 22 this year. The corporation has also invited suggestions from citizens," said an official from the Solid Waste Management Department.

The Bombay High Court had asked the civic body in 2013 to conduct a scientific closure of the dumping ground within a couple of months. The BMC then decided to set up a plant at Deonar in 2014, and floated a tender, inviting contractors to process 3,000 metric tonnes of waste daily, but not a single bidder came forward to operate such a plant on such a large scale. Thereafter, BMC invited tenders for a small plant in 2018 and received a response after the third tender in May 2019.

As per the contract, the plant will process around 600 metric tonnes of garbage daily and 4-MW energy will be generated from it. The plant will take another 40 months to be fully operational.

The BMC is spending Rs 1,020 crore on the plant, which is based on a ‘design, build and commissioning' model. The contractor will operate the facility for 15 years and the energy will be used for BMC's services.