PORT DICKSON: As the country tries to resolve its waste problem, news of the revival of the first waste-to-energy (WTE) incinerator plant in Ladang Tanah Merah here should have come as a breath of fresh air.
The project, developed by Cypark Resources Bhd, has experienced delays since last year.
The plant, which is supposed to generate power from solid waste, had been initially targeted for completion in January last year.
However, the developer cited difficult geological formation at the site, which set back the project for another year.
When it missed its second deadline at the end of last year, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin stepped in.
During a visit to the site in March, she assured people that the project would be up and running by June.
However, the deadline has since lapsed.
A source told the New Straits Times that the project was at risk of another delay.
“The plant’s construction is behind schedule again.
“It is supposed to start operating in June, but until today, there is no news.”
The source said the delay could harm the environment as waste from municipalities continued to be sent to the adjacent Ladang Tanah Merah landfill.
“Due to this delay, we have to opt for other landfills to send the waste. The excessive waste will shorten the lifespan of the landfill, which is supposed to last 20 years.
“When this happens, the government has no choice but to find another site for the landfill.”
When the issue was highlighted to Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, he said the state government would look into complaints that the accumulation of waste would lead to pollution issues in the surrounding area.
He said the issue of safety would be scrutinised in the wake of a second fire incident that struck an integrated waste treatment plant near here recently.
When addressing rumours that municipalities dumped their waste at the site, he said, this occurred as a way to run tests on the WTE incinerator’s system.
“Yes, the waste is already there because without it, how can we test the system?” he said, while admitting there was another delay in the project’s completion.
He said the project was under the ministry, and that it had nothing to do with the state government.
He said the state government was not too affected by the delay as the cost of building the plant did not involve any allocation from it.
“This is the first WTE project under the ministry. It has nothing to do with the state government. However, we are monitoring its progress.
“I have been informed that there has been another delay in completing the plant and it is targeted for completion next year.”
The federal government is working towards making the plant a success as it will be the country’s first solid waste facility that will create renewable energy.
Zuraida had stressed this during her visit to the site in March.
She had said that WTE facilities could take sustainable waste management into the future.
“It is important for this plant to work well because it could be our future model,” she was quoted as saying after the visit.
Zuraida said the plant would be an impetus for other states to develop their own WTE incinerator.
There are plans to have at least one WTE facility in every state by next year.
Built on a 4ha area, the Ladang Tanah Merah WTE incinerator project will be able to handle 600 tonnes of mechanically-segregated and processed municipal solid waste per day, once it is completed.
This will produce between 20MW and 25MW of green energy, sufficient to power about 25,000 households in its vicinity.
It is learnt that the project is a RM300 million public-private partnership under the build-operate-manage-transfer concept for a lease period of 25 years.