Bid for £1bn Cheshire waste contract hots up

Sep 22 2008 by Ben Coulbeck, Chester Chronicle

THE bidding war for Cheshire County Council’s £1billion residual waste contract is about to become a two-horse race.

In March, the council announced four bidders hoping to claim ownership of the waste management private finance initiative (PFI) but it has been revealed that the shortlist will be cut to two by the end of the year.

The remaining four bidders are: Viridor Waste Management; Waste Recycling Group; United Utilities; and a joint bid from Ineos Chlor and Shanks Waste Management.

Each company will now submit refined bids to the council outlining how they intend to treat residual waste and divert from landfill.

The winner of the contract is likely to be announced in April next year.

Strategic manager for contract procurement, John Thistlewood, confirmed the decision to split the council into two unitary authorities would not affect the process but they would need to be taken into consideration

He said: “Completion of the waste treatment PFI procurement will require the agreement of both the two new unitary authorities which come into effect from April 1, 2009 and this has involved consultation with the shadow authorities.”

Cheshire has been awarded £40m in PFI credits by Defra in a bid to help fund a new waste treatment infrastructure for the county.

The council currently sends all residual waste to three landfills run by the Waste Recycling Group.