ILOILO CITY – Metro Pacific Investments Corp. unit, Metro Pacific Water’s (MPW) proposal to build a P2.3 billion waste-to-energy (WTE) facility has remained unchallenged from rival bidders, according to the city’s top official.
Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas told reporters over the weekend that the city council is set to deliberate on the company’s proposal next month and decide whether to approve or reject the program.
Earlier in June, the MPW and the local government of Iloilo City signed a joint certification on the successful negotiation of the company’s WTE project that was subjected to a Swiss challenge.
Such a challenge allows the winning bidder to match the challenger bid and retain ownership of the project.
Treñas said he plans to submit the MPW proposal to the city council, which is also the city’s public-private partnership committee, by 3 November this year.
“Once (the WTE program is) operational, we don’t have to develop another module for sanitary landfill. The last time we built a landfill eight years ago, the city spent P300 million. Now, if we build another landfill, the cost could easily double or a little more than double,” the local chief executive said.
According to him, the decision is at the discretion of the city council but noted the project will help save waste disposal-related expenses given that a WTE is more sustainable than maintaining sanitary landfills.
“Sanitary landfills are not sustainable. Eventually they will be filled up and then you are forced to find a new location for it,” Treñas said.
The city council also expects to clear the existing 23-hectare sanitary landfill for a possible repurposing.
Earlier, the MPW said the proposed WTE facility is capable of processing up to 470 tons of waste as fuel to produce around 2.4 megawatts of energy.
The proposed project’s energy is seen to power a water desalination plant that the MPW is also eyeing for the province.
