Pinsent Masons advises Welsh consortium on £1.1bn residual waste project
THE Birmingham office of law firm Pinsent Masons has advised a consortium of five local authorities in South Wales on a £1.1bn residual waste project.
Projects Senior Associate, Didar Dhillon led the team advising the five procuring local authorities – Caerphilly, Cardiff, Monmouthshire, Newport and Vale of Glamorgan (known as Prosiect Gwyrdd) – on the 25-year deal.
The deal is thought to be the largest PPP project to close in Wales to date. The project is expected to save the local authorities £11m in the first year of operation and £500m over its lifetime.
The project, the first to be procured under the Welsh Government’s residual waste revenue support programme, will provide for the five local authorities’ 172,000 tonnes of residual waste to be treated at Viridor’s Trident Park Energy from Waste (EfW) facility which is expected to be completed in 2014. The £223m facility, based in Cardiff, will generate 28 mega watts (MW) of electricity which is enough to power 50,000 households.
The project has been structured under a complex merchant non-reverting model whereby 50% of the facility’s capacity will be committed to third party waste.
Commenting on the project, Didar Dhillon, said: “This project provides a perfect example of how local authorities can work collaboratively to efficiently deliver major infrastructure in challenging economic times.
“The scale and merchant nature of this project drew out a number of unprecedented issues which, with benefit of our market leading waste experience, we were able to successfully guide the authorities through. The project will deliver a significant contribution to the achievement of recycling targets in South Wales and valuable savings that may help to safeguard frontline council services.”
Pinsent Masons is also advising the procuring authorities on the North Wales residual waste project, which will is also to be funded with Welsh Government support, and is scheduled to complete in 2014.
