"£700m waste deal nears"

GREATER Manchester is reportedly close to signing a pioneering deal to build a £700m waste-to-energy scheme that will be the largest of its kind in Europe.

Lenders to the much-delayed project are putting the final touches to financing agreements, with an announcement this week a possibility, according to newspaper reports.

Four banks – Bank of Ireland, BBVA, Lloyds and Sumitomo Mitsui – are providing the bulk of the funds, with additional contributions from the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority and the European Investment Bank, according to Reuters Project Finance International, the industry newsletter.

The scheme will be operated by Viridor, the waste-management arm of the Pennon utility group, which is working in a joint venture with Laing.

When the project is running, 1.3m tonnes of waste a year will be processed, with some of the energy going to fuel a power station specially built for Manchester.

The plant will be built and operated by Ineos, the private chemicals group, which will use the heat for its petrochemicals complex.