Work on the first waste-to-energy plant in the State began at Njeliyanparamba in Kozhikode on Monday with a bhoomi pooja . Mayor Thottathil Raveendran and Kozhikode Corporation’s standing committee chairpersons took part in the event, which marked the first step towards the construction of the plant, expected to begin in January 2021.
The waste-to-energy plant is being set up on 12.67 acres of Corporation land by a Bengaluru-based consortium led by Zonta Infratech Private Limited. The ₹250-crore project is expected to process around 450 tonnes of solid waste and create 6 MW of electricity per day.
The plant will benefit Ramanattukara, Feroke and Koyilandy municipalities, and Olavanna, Kunnamangalam and Kadalundi panchayats besides the Kozhikode Corporation.
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The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) is the nodal agency for the project and a special purpose vehicle named Malabar Waste Management Private Limited has been formed to carry out the project.
The local bodies are expected to pay a tipping fees to the company and also take responsibility for waste collection in their jurisdiction. The waste collected will be segregated and taken to the plant by the company from designated collection points. It will be processed using controlled combustion method, by which waste is burned at a very high temperature. The steam thus produced will be used to work the turbines to produce electricity. The electricity produced at the plant will be sold to the Kerala State Electricity Board at the rates fixed by the Electricity Regulatory Commission.
It may take a few years for work on the plant to be completed. However, the first phase may be completed in a year. At present, the levelling of land was in progress, said Corporation Secretary Binu Francis.
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