Patna: Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Thursday signed a tripartite concession agreement for a Rs 514.59-crore integrated solid waste management project covering 13 urban local bodies (ULBs). The project includes a 15-MW waste-to-energy plant and an integrated waste processing and disposal facility at Ramchak Bairiya.According to a PMC release, the agreement was signed by Ranjan Kumar Choudhary, deputy secretary, urban development and housing department (UDHD); Bindu Rajak, PMC’s chief municipal engineer; and Sanjeev Kumar on behalf of Magadh Resource Recovery Sustainable Solutions Ltd, the firm selected to implement the project.Under the project, segregated municipal waste from Patna and 12 neighbouring ULBs, including Danapur Nizamat, Fatuha, Khagaul, Phulwari Sharif, Bakhtiyarpur, Masaurhi, Bihta, Sampatchak, Maner, Naubatpur, Punpun and Khusrupur, will be transported to the Ramchak Bairiya facility for scientific processing, recycling, energy generation and disposal.The facility will include a 15-MW waste-to-energy plant, a 100-tonne-per-day biomethanation unit, three material recovery facility (MRF)-cum-refuse-derived fuel (RDF) centres of 250 TPD each, an additional 50-TPD MRF, a 700-TPD composting plant and a 325-TPD engineered sanitary landfill.Officials said the project has received approval from the Department of Economic Affairs under the Union finance ministry and the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs. It will be developed under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.Construction is expected to be completed within two-and-a-half years, after which the selected agency will operate and maintain the facility for 20 years.Officials said the project would reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills, improve recycling and resource recovery, curb greenhouse gas emissions and generate renewable energy from municipal solid waste.A separate inter-ULB agreement signed on July 20 authorised PMC to act as the lead agency for the project on behalf of the participating urban local bodies.
