VISAKHAPATNAM: The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) is giving the final touches to its 15 MW waste-to-energy plant, which is under construction at Kapuluppada dumping yard.
The civic body recently conducted a trial run at the plant. Once it is operationalised, the plant will reduce burden on the landfill as the GVMC has to supply to it 950 metric tonnes of waste a day. The city generates about 1,100 MT of garbage a day.
The civic body entered into a concession agreement with Jindal Infrastructure, Transportation, Fabrication in February 2016. The Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited (APEPDCL) will procure power from the plant for 25 years. Even though the project was supposed to be completed much before, several factors led to the delay in the development of the plant.
Speaking to STOI, GVMC engineering officials said the plant will be ready for commissioning by the end of November or the first half of December. “Recently, the GVMC conducted a trial run with about 500 MT of garbage. The works are nearing completion on all components,” an official informed.
The total area available at Kapuluppada site is about 110 acres. Apart from the plant, the GVMC has earmarked some land for the scientific landfill. According to experts, scientific landfill is one of the best suitable options for disposal of inert residues generated from the waste-to-energy plant. The process of land filling involves scientific disposal of waste in an eco-friendly manner to protect the environment.
The garbage, piled over the years at Kapuluppada dumping yard without any processing, had turned into a challenge for the GVMC. All these factors have forced the civic body to look for an alternative in the form of a waste-to-energy plant for the mounting garbage issue in the city.
According to experts, the waste-to-energy plant helps avoid the production of methane, while producing almost 10 times more electricity from each tonne of waste compared to landfills.
Unorganised waste management practices could pose an array of threats — right from open burning which releases toxic gases to pollutants seeping into groundwater and raising subsequent health problems.
