Mexico City launches tender to build solid waste treatment plant

Mexico City's public works and services ministry launched a public tender for a thermal solid waste treatment plant that will serve to power the capital city's metro system, according to the official city gazette.

The project includes design, construction, operation, start up, operation and maintenance.

The contract also calls for managing the processes and products necessary to supply 965,000 MWh a year to the metro system, as well as for designing and building the Parque Tláhuac, where the plant will be located.

The 33-year contract will be awarded under the long-term service provision project (PPS) model and the plant will become property of the local government after completion of the term.

The document containing the tender's terms and conditions is available for purchase at the ministry's general directorate of urban services office from December 13-15. Site visits are scheduled on January 11 and 12, and a clarification meeting is set for January 16.

Proposals must be submitted at the ministry's office on February 17, 2017, and the winner will be announced on February 27.

Mayor Miguel Ángel Mancera said the plant is an "emblematic" project for his administration and that it will help the city save energy costs, reports local daily La Jornada. "The project is a win-win situation for the city in every way," Mancera added.

According to the director of the metro system, Jorge Gaviño, the capital city currently spends between 1.7-1.8bn pesos (US$84-89mn) a year to supply the metro, which is paid to federal power authority CFE.

The plant is estimated to be finished within two years, reports daily La Crónica. According to the paper, although similar plants are already in operation in Europe, the US, China and Japan, this will be the first thermal solid waste treatment plant of its kind to operate in Latin America.

Earlier this year, the city government announced that it was preparing tenders for the construction of three solid waste processing facilities, each of which would use a different method to transform waste into energy.

Construction of a biogas facility is already underway at the Bordo Poniente landfill, in the east of the city.

A biodigestion plant, which would be the largest of its kind in the world, could be located near the Central de Abastos, the city's main wholesale market for fresh food and produce, according to reports.