SITA UK signs contract with West London Waste Authority

A consortium led by SITA UK has signed a £760 million (US$1.243 billion) contract with the West London Waste Authority (WLWA) to handle the municipal waste generated by residents in the authority’s jurisdiction. Under terms of the agreement, SITA, along with its partners Scottish Widows Investment Partners and the Itochu Corp., will design, finance, build and operate the energy-from-waste facility in Severnside, U.K., which will manage up to 300,000 metric tons of residual municipal waste every year.

The contract is slated to run for the next 25 years. SITA says that over its duration the contact is worth £1.4 billion ($2.29 billion) in total while £244 million ($400 million) will be invested in the new infrastructure.

Under the agreement, residual waste from residents in the London boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow and Richmond-upon-Thames will be transported by rail to the new Severnside Energy Recovery Centre (SERC) in South Gloucestershire, which already has planning permission. The facility is slated to produce around 34 megawatts of electricity per year.

According to SITA, the facility will enable the WLWA to divert 96 percent of its waste from landfill.

The company expects construction at the Severnside facility to begin by the end of 2013 with construction of the facility expected to be complete by 2016.

In addition, from January 2014, SITA UK will take over the operation of the two rail-linked waste transfer stations, which will both be modernized as part of the investment program.

David Palmer-Jones, SITA UK’s CEO, says, “I am delighted that we have managed to reach financial close just over six months after being announced as preferred bidder, which is testament to the hard work of all involved. We now look forward to working with the Authority to make best use of these valuable materials.”

Hitachi Zosen Inova, based in Zurich, Switzerland, is in charge of construction of Severnside facility. The project will be the company’s seventh turnkey plant contract in the U.K. over the last seven years. “We chose Hitachi Zosen Inova to deliver the energy from waste technology at the Severnside Energy Recovery Centre because of their long-standing track record and proven technology, but also because of their ability to innovate to ensure that the facility is at the forefront of efficiency and environmental performance, says Palmer-Jones.

Jean-Louis Chaussade, CEO of Suez Environnement, the parent company of SITA UK, notes, “Suez Environnement has a strong track record of delivering projects on time and we are proud to announce the financial close of this important project with the West London Waste Authority with no delay. Now that the contract has been signed, we can start our substantial investment program immediately and will begin construction at Severnside within the next month.”