$1.2B waste-to-energy facility in Lapu-Lapu

CEBU, Philippines - A US$ 1.2-billion waste-to-energy facility funded by an American firm will soon be constructed in Sitio Soong, Barangay Mactan, Lapu-Lapu City within this year.

Michael Jimenez, president of Zehira USA, said that the project is designed to rehabilitate the dumpsite area and eliminate the danger of wastes to health and environment using the Herhof technology.

Herhof, a German-based technology, will be applied to the waste to energy facility designed to solve the city's massive garbage problem.

Jimenez described that the technology serves as a one-stop shop for recycling, composting and converting toxic, mining industrial and other residual wastes into pellets of energy that will be sold to cement factories and coal power plants.

The waste pellets to be produced, he added, are considered to have the lowest emission among other fossil energy resources. The brown coal used by most power plants, on the other hand, has the highest emission.

He said such technology has been used for more than 20 years in Europe and established in more than 50 existing and operational plants, most of which are based in Germany.

He added that the project is comprised of two phases requiring a 15-hectare area: phase one which is the waste to pellet facility and phase two which is the 18-month construction of the power plant itself.

The plant, he said, will have the capacity of 350 tons of waste per day that turns unsegregated garbage into gas with zero emission.

As of now, he noted that the company will initially work on the first phase since the 1,000-ton garbage as the minimum volume capacity requirement of the plant for the second phase has not been met.

In Lapu-Lapu, 70 tons of wastes are collected every day. Out of these 70 tons, at least 12-15 megawatts could be generated.

Jimenez also clarified that during the construction of the project, the soon-to-be closed dumpsite and the materials recovery facility in the city will remain operational.

Construction will start within this year. They are still working on travel documents of local officials who will be interviewed and will undergo orientation in Germany.

There would be modernized, well-sealed garbage trucks that can accommodate 20 tons of garbage each. The project will not just accommodate Lapu-Lapu City alone but the entire province. It has also been introduced to Sarangani, Zamboanga del Sur, Davao City and other cities in the Luzon area.

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza said that the joint venture agreement is projected to introduce the "ultra modern, zero waste management technology" to the city. She said the city will be the first among 10 locations identified for the establishment of the solid waste management and disposal plant in the Philippines.

 "As a highly urbanized city and with a booming tourism industry it is paramount that we protect our environment and keep our surroundings clean. The success of any tourism program depends on how safe a place is and how clean is its environment. This waste to energy project will not only solve the menacing problem of garbage but also propel the city's waste management to the future of waste disposal system," she stated.

Meanwhile in Cebu City, Mayor Michael Rama finds the proposal of Greenergy Solutions Inc. (GSI) to remediate the Inayawan Landfill and manage the city's garbage "worth the try".

Rama said that the portion of the proposal where it says the project will not cost a single centavo of tax payer's money will be good for the city. But Rama wants the proposal deliberated before the City Council to further determine if the proposal will be most beneficial to the city and its constituents.

He also said that the agreement, if finalized, must include a provision for revenue sharing between the developer and the city government.

— with Jessica Ann R. Pareja/JPM (FREEMAN)