Wasteserv informs industry of prospective incinerator tender

A fresh tender for the construction of an incinerator at Magħtab will be issued “within weeks”, Wasteserv is telling industry players.

The waste agency has just published a prior-information notice (PIN) to indicate to prospective bidders that it is planning to launch a tender for the waste-to-energy plant.

The competitive procedure with negotiation has to be re-issued after a previous one launched in 2020 was abandoned last week after three shortlisted companies failed to submit a final bid. The overall cost of the tender is expected to be around €400 million.

In parliament, Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia said COVID-19 and international mergers were the reasons why none of the three companies proceeded to a final bid.

The PIN gives industry players a heads up to potential bidders to start preparing their bid and joint venture arrangements in advance. The preliminary notice has been published on the company’s website and will also feature on the EU Journal in the coming days.

Wasteserv said the successful tenderer will be awarded a contract for the design, build and operation of the incinerator. The contract will consist of a construction phase of approximately three years and a subsequent operation and maintenance phase of approximately 20 years.

Wasteserv obtained the outline development permit from the Planning Authority for the Magħtab incinerator a few weeks ago and in the wake of the aborted tendering process will be issuing a separate tender for excavation works to mitigate the loss of time.

“The ground has already been cleared and the required excavations are anticipated to start within weeks so that they are completed by the time the contract is awarded,” Wasteserv said.