Waste decision ‘later this year’

Plans to build a waste plant, probably here at Longue Hougue, are over a year behind schedule.

PROGRESS towards building a waste plant is around a year and four months behind predictions.

When Environment was in charge of the process, it said that the tender documents should be issued in April last year. But there have been significant delays, including the handing over of responsibility to Public Services and the States indecision on how much waste it should deal with.

Yesterday, a project board in charge of procuring a waste plant met for the first time. It is hoped that that a report recommending a shortlist of companies will go to the States in July. If accepted, invitations to tender would be sent out in August.

Outgoing Public Services minister Bill Bell said that Environment’s predictions had been very tight.

‘I’m satisfied with the progress since we took over and had the waste arisings,’ said Deputy Bell.

‘But I’m not satisfied with the progress we as the States have made since 2004.

‘I believe a decision will now be made later this year and work will get under way next year.’

He said that yesterday’s meeting had been very useful.

‘The project board was pleased to note that the expressions of interest that have been received cover a wide range of technologies,’ said Deputy Bell.

‘It is too early to say how many of these different technologies will ultimately prove suitable.

However, each one will be rigorously and fairly assessed by our technical team and the project board looks forward to receiving the results of those assessments in due course.’

The department sent 62 letters to people who had contacted it showing an interest in building a plan to solve Guernsey’s waste problem.

Those were both small and large firms.

‘I think that we all had concerns that there might be less interest on this occasion as a result of the way in which the States treated potential contractors last time, but that doesn’t seem to be borne out.’

Members of the Public Services board and political representatives from Environment, Commerce and Employment and Treasury and Resources all sit on the project board.

Article posted on 4th April, 2008 - 1.30pm

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