TIRANA, Nov. 16 – The Albanian government has concluded a contract deal with an Albanian joint venture over the construction of an urban waste-to-energy plant under a six-year concession amid protests by local residents worried over pollution.
In an announcement published on the latest bulletin by the Public Procurement Agency, the environment ministry says it has awarded Integrated Technology Waste Treatment Fier, an Albanian joint venture, a six-year concession contract to build a waste-to-energy plant outside Fier, southwestern Albania, a project which has been met with protests by local residents who oppose the plant’s construction in inhabited areas. The plant’s location has now been moved to Mbrostar village whose residents are also strongly protesting after initial plans to build the plant in Plyk village were also dropped over protests.
“We don’t agree at all, it’s a huge mistake. It’s not even 1 km away from the village center. Nobody asked us. They’re not managing to even collect our own waste,” a protester, resident of Mbrostar village has said.
The joint venture, the sole bidder in the tender held earlier this year, is expected to invest 3.7 billion lek (€27 million) in the plant’s construction which will also produce electricity from the burning of waste through an incinerator.
The plant is expected to process an estimated annual 70,000 metric tons of urban waste from the region of Fier, the country’s second biggest region home to some 300,000 residents, and produce 3.8 MW of electricity from the burning of waste.
Reacting to protests by the local residents, the environment ministry has said the plant settles the long-standing issue of waste management in the region of Fier, creates employment and reduces management costs by the local municipality.
The waste-to energy plant is the second such plant after the one in its final construction stage in Elbasan, central Albania.
The winning bidder, Integrated Technology Waste Treatment Fier, was initially registered with Albania’s National Business Center only in October 2016 as an Albanian-Italian joint venture between Albanian-owned Integrated technology Services and Italian-owned “Energy 2” s.r.l
Ndertimi Montimi Patos, an Albanian company, acquired in late October the 20 percent stake held by the Italian company and 10 percent of shares from the Integrated Technology Services, becoming a 30 percent shareholder in the plant.
Only about two-thirds of the country’s 2.9 million resident population has access to public waste treatment and disposal services, making waste management one of the key issues of concern for local communities and hundreds of thousands of tourists visiting Albania.
Some 69 percent of municipal waste is landfilled, about a quarter is recycled, 2.5 percent is incinerated and 2 percent is still dumped, according to state statistical institute, INSTAT.
