The ambitious modernized solid waste treatment plant (SWTP) at Bainguinim will now be built on the lines of the Saligao SWTP, based on German technology and financed totally by the State government, officials said.
The government has ‘in principle’ granted approval for setting up the facility on a Design, Build, Operate and Transfer (DBOT) basis, at an estimated cost of around Rs 140 crore.
The facility at Bainguinim, initially proposed under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), received a major setback after the Union Urban Development Ministry failed to make a budgetary provision for the project under the scheme, and then directed the State to make a fresh proposal for sanction under the new rules of Urban Development Mission as and when launched.
As the delay would push back the project even further, the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP), the nodal agency for the solid waste management project, placed the proposal before the government.
The High Power Task Force on solid waste management, headed by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, that met on April 1; gave its ‘in principle’ nod for setting up the facility on lines with the SWTPs coming up at Saligao and Cacora. Since the project will be on DBOT basis it will be handed over to a private contractor.
Speaking to Herald, CCP commissioner Sanjit Rodrigues confirmed the development and said that a detailed plan has been sent to the Directorate of Municipal Administration for final approval. “As soon as we get the approval, the work order will be issued,” he said. He added, “The work will be completed within 18 months from the date of its commencement.”
The proposed technology for the Saligao plant is – Zentrale Abfallwirtschaft Kaiserslautern – mixed waste treatment plant at Kaiserslautern in Southwest Germany. The work is being tendered to SMC Infrastructure Pvt ltd, Thane, Maharashtra.
The cost of the Bainginium project is estimated to be approximately Rs 140 crore, which is almost 40 percent higher then what was proposed under JNNURM. In February 2014, the Union Urban Development Ministry had approved almost Rs 90 crore for the Bainguinim plant, but it failed to make any allocation for this during its last meeting.
The proposed facility is designed to treat 100 metric tonnes of waste per day generated in the capital city and its surrounding area.
