A WASTE-TO-ENERGY (WTE) plant worth P32 billion will soon rise in Danao City in northern Cebu.
The plant will be constructed on a 6.3-hectare property in Barangay Dunggoan, according to Mayor Thomas Mark Durano on Saturday, July 15, 2023.
Once completed, it can process and treat 600 to 1,200 tons of mixed waste generated by the city’s residents and residents of neighboring towns and cities every day. These will include paper, plastics and products made from wood, among other solid garbage or trash.
On average, Danao City produces 20 tons of waste per day, he said.
The plant is also expected to generate a minimum of 12 megawatts (MW) and a maximum of 30 MW of electricity daily.
Mayor Durano said their aim is to have the facility ready and operational by 2024.
Ceremony
Durano, together with Michael Jimenez, president and chief executive officer of Integrated Green Technology (IGT), led the groundbreaking of the Ultramodern Solid Waste Management and Disposal Plant on Saturday.
The plant is one of Danao City’s big-ticket projects this year.
Durano and Jimenez were accompanied by the city councilors and city departments heads, Vice Mayor Ramon “Nito” Durano III, IGT chief operating officer and co-founder Leilani Cruz, Camarines Norte Gov. Ricarte Padilla, former tourism secretary Joseph Felix Mari “Ace” Durano, and Danao City Investment and Promotions Center officer-in-charge Red Durano VI during the ceremony.
Public-private partnership
The Danao City Government entered into a public-private partnership (PPP) with IGT Visayas Inc. for the construction of the WTE plant.
The partnership sealed a 50-year contract between the two parties to address the waste disposal problems of Danao and neighboring local government units at no cost to the City Government.
Jimenez said Danao City would no longer have to invest in material recovery facilities or a sanitary landfill.
He said the WTE plant would also resolve the problems of odor and pollution which are associated with waste disposal.
With its power generation capacity, the plant will supply power to local utility distributors and, in return, reduce the residents’ monthly electrical bills.
He said the plant will employ an estimated 300 workers. Some 80 percent of the jobs will be reserved for residents of Danao City.
Jimenez also applauded the support of the City Government, saying the project was approved in a span of four months since his first meeting with Mayor Durano.
He pointed to the business-friendly policy and aggressiveness of the City Government to bring in investors with the introduction of the PPP Ordinance that eases the legal framework of big-ticket projects.
Latest technology
Jimenez said the facility in Danao City is IGT’s first WTE plant in the Philippines.
He said they also plan to build one in Camarines Norte, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Davao del Norte and Quezon Province.
He said IGT, in partnership with foreign firms, uses proven technologies from Germany and France to ensure clean, safe and environmentally friendly emissions when converting waste into electricity.
He said these technologies comply with Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, and follow the strict guidelines of the Department of Energy and the Department of Environment and Natural Resource’s WTE policy.
He said before burning the collected waste, it will undergo a process called “Mechanical Biological Treatment” to transform it into pellets that will then be used for power generation.
Meanwhile, Mayor Durano said the sanitary landfill in Barangay Taboc, Camaligbato is operating at normal capacity.
However, he said they have an ordinance that prohibits the City Government from opening up more cells in the landfill.
He said the WTE plant will be instrumental in the rehabilitation of the landfill by feeding existing and new waste into the plant.
Jimenez said that in the coming years, the WTE plant will reduce the amount of waste that will be dumped in the landfill. Ultimately, the landfill can be used for other purposes, he added.