GRD Limited announced today that its subsidiary Global Renewables has reached a key milestone in the closure of the Lancashire waste contract, one of the largest and most significant public finance initiative contracts of its type to be awarded in the UK.
GRD Limited announced today that its subsidiary Global Renewables has reached a key milestone in the closure of the Lancashire waste contract, one of the largest and most significant public finance initiative contracts of its type to be awarded in the United Kingdom. The cabinets of Lancashire county council and Blackpool council, the two contracting authorities, have authorised the move to financial closure of the contract involving $850 million of direct capital investment and a total contract value of over $5 billion.
Global Renewables was selected in September last year as preferred bidder to design, install and operate an integrated network of waste management facilities for sorting, recycling, mechanical and biological treatment, and composting of household waste. The announcement today for a 765,000 tonnes capacity network (600,000 tonnes per year of processing capacity) represents the point at which both parties have agreed the contractual and technical details, and dates will now be set for the financial close and operational start of the project.
Cliff Lawrenson, GRD's chief executive, said: "We are extremely pleased that the Lancashire Waste Partnership decided to use our market leading UR-3R Process which will put them at the forefront of municipal waste management and resources recovery in the United Kingdom. The residents of Lancashire will benefit from the effort that has gone into making this innovative PFI project work. Meeting all the objectives of the contract will deliver major environmental and social benefits to the residents of Lancashire".
Financial close is scheduled for September 2006. Global Renewables led a strong consortium team for the bid, which included GRD Minproc, Bovis Lend Lease, ISKA GmbH, Sorain Cecchini Techno SRL, and Churngold.
Steve Browne, Lancashire County Council's Director for Waste and Natural Resources Management, said: "This contract fulfils the commitment made by the County Council to do everything possible to deliver its waste strategy without a legacy of landfill or energy from waste incineration. The Global Renewables approach provides us with a state-of-the-art solution that focuses on resources
recovery. In addition to the building of processing infrastructure, the contract includes long term programmes for waste minimisation, environmental education within our primary schools, community engagement and a local market development programme to deliver our 'Rubbish to Resources' agenda."
The Global Renewables team was led by Development Director, David Singh, who added: "Previously household and municipal waste was viewed as a major problem but is now seen as a valuable resource stream that can provide recyclable and reusable materials. The Lancashire Waste Partnership PFI is a significant step forward for environmental and resource focused management of waste streams. We hope that the County Council's insight and vision is followed by other waste management agencies across the UK."
The Lancashire Waste Partnership is a collective of adjacent local authorities established to provide an integrated approach to delivering the statutory targets for waste diversion and recycling in the region. Global Renewables will enter into a 25 year PFI contract to deliver the waste management strategy.
