KOCHI: The tender process for setting up a modern solid waste processing plant at Brahmapuram is expected to be completed in the next two weeks.
Mayor Tony Chammany told reporters on Tuesday that the financial bid for the project would be opened in the next few days and the contract awarded. He said that two companies were in the final bid for the project.
Mr. Chammany said that the new plant would be based on the waste-to-energy concept. The estimated cost of the facility is nearly Rs 350 crore.
The existing waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram had to be abandoned as the plant was sinking, said experts. They were taking part in a discussion on the infrastructure projects needed for Kochi, organised by Better Kochi Response Groupon Tuesday.
The new plant will have a capacity of treating 300 tonnes of solid waste per day and the city corporation has to transport the required quantity of garbage to the plant.
If it is not done, the corporation will have to pay a penalty. At present, the city is generating nearly 165 tonnes of waste per day and the requirement of 300 tonnes of waste can be met only if the adjoining four municipalities and 11 panchayats also carry their waste to Brahmapuram.
However, there are widespread apprehensions over the success of the waste to energy plant as the concept has not been tested elsewhere in the country.
The government announced the project in 2011, but the tendering and selection of an agency was delayed as Suchitwa Mission, the nodal agency, failed to identify a firm with a proven track record.
