Ground preparation works for the Waste to Energy project are expected to be completed this year, WasteServ said on Friday.

The Environmental Impact Assessment for the project has already been completed and the detailed Outline Development Application approved.

The Waste-to-Energy Plant will provide an essential environmental service as it will convert waste that would otherwise go to the landfill into green energy. This will allow the country to move away from decades of predominant reliance on landfilling, the agency said.

As these works will be ongoing, the technology provider will be selected through a tender process that will also include the operation of the plant for a twenty-year period.

WasteServ said a fresh preliminary qualification questionnaire will be issued as none of the three shortlisted consortia that participated in the first competitive dialogue procedure submitted a final bid.

This project is part of a holistic strategy that is being implemented at the ECOHIVE Complex. Planning application and tenders for a new Recycling Plant and a new Organic Processing Plant will also be submitted shortly. Preparatory works on a new skip management facility are also at a very advanced stage, and the design works for a new Clinical and Hazardous Waste plant are proceeding.

A Multi-Material Recovery Facility will also be ready in a few months.

WasteServ said that, apart from working on new projects, it is also “addressing past environmental disasters with rehabilitation projects such as the one already inaugurated in Wied Fulija with over 40,000 trees and shrubs, and another in Qortin, Gozo which will very soon be open to the general public.”