Three power firms qualify to bid for waste-to-energy

CEBU, Philippines - Three foreign firms have pre-qualified for the bidding of the Integrated Waste to Energy Management Facility of the Province of Cebu during the dropping of bids yesterday.

The MGT Green Energy Solutions of Malaysia and Quantum International and Sinova Capital, both based in the US, made presentations before the media before the opening of the technical proposal to determine if they passed or failed.

All three passed, but Golden Fortune Prime Source withdrew saying its foreign consortium partners and investors are neither amenable nor comfortable with the Build-Transfer-Operate Scheme.

MGT Green Energy Solutions consultant Peter Hoffman showed members of the Provincial Economic Council and the media a model of the plant.

The proposed $10-million plant can produce a megawatt for every 25 tons of garbage and can accommodate 250 tons of garbage per day.

Quantum International also presented how to achieve “zero waste” using their plasma arc technology that can provide up to 2,000 megawatts of electricity out of 2,000 tons of unsegregated garbage a day.

Provincial Planning and Development Officer, Engr. Adolfo Quiroga, said the entire Cebu Province, component cities added, produces 1,700 metric tons of garbage per day.

Quantum International can build its plant within 18 months with a total cost of $450 million.

Sinova Capital already has plants in the Philippine such as the one in Antipolo City.

It said with the amount of garbage Cebu Province generates, it can produce 36 megawatts of electricity a day. Its plant will cost $25 million and it needs eight to 10 hectares of land.

The winning proponent will put up the facility under BTO scheme for at least 25 months of operation and the facility will be turned over to the province that owns the lot.

The Pre-Qualification Bids and Awards Committee is set to start evaluating the technical proposals until August 18. The project is expected to start within the year. (FREEMAN)