Two rounds of cost escalation nearly double initial budget; expensive machinery deteriorating

The key objectives of the project are to reduce pressure on land through modern waste management. Additionally, the project is being implemented to ensure environmentally sound collection, transportation, and disposal of waste, cut carbon emissions, and convert waste into renewable energy.

The space for dumping waste (landfill) for Dhaka city is shrinking rapidly under growing urban pressure. To ease the constant challenge of land acquisition, Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) moved towards modern waste management. DNCC adopted a plan in 2020 to generate electricity from waste. However, the project tenure will expire in the upcoming December 2025. Despite two rounds of cost escalation—nearly doubling the initial budget—the power plant has not even been constructed. As a result, the expensive machinery purchased for the project is gradually deteriorating. DNCC sources say work cannot proceed because the project is still awaiting final environmental clearance.

The Landfill Expansion and Modernization Project in Savar’s Aminbazar under the Local Government Division (LGD) approved in January 2020 by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). The cost was projected to be BDT 7.86 billion, including BDT 280 million in DNCC’s own financing, while the rest of the expenses were provided by the government. Despite the original deadline of June 2023, it was subsequently extended. Even the cost also increased. The first revision raised the cost to BDT 12.72 billion, and a special revision due to various crises later pushed it further to BDT 14.26 billion. Yet, the waste-to-energy plant remains untouched as the project approaches its end next month.

In late November 2023, then DNCC mayor Atiqul Islam announced that installation of equipment for waste-to-energy generation would begin in January 2024. He said engineers from the Chinese firm China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) had already started work. The planned facility would generate up to 42.5 megawatts of electricity per hour with four turbines, and at least one turbine was expected to be operational by 2025.

Noting that DNCC had handed over 30 acres of land to the Chinese company, the former mayor added that the Chinese company said that the plant would require two years to complete. DNCC had committed to supply 3,000 tons of waste per day.

Of the major sectors of the project, BDT 8.82 billion was allocated for acquiring 80 acres of land. Another BDT 700 million was allocated for compensation related to structure removal, BDT 152.9 million for 200,000 cubic meters of sand, and BDT 670 million for soil and sand filling to develop land for the power plant. Additional allocations include BDT 320 million for main and access roads, BDT 130 million for a dumping platform and plantation, BDT 270 million for drainage and boundary walls, and BDT 550 million for HDPE liners for landfill facilities, flood tower lights, and post-closure landfills.

The key objectives of the project are to reduce pressure on land through modern waste management. Additionally, the project is being implemented to ensure environmentally sound collection, transportation, and disposal of waste, cut carbon emissions, and convert waste into renewable energy.

DNCC Administrator Mohammad Ejaz told Bonik Barta, “We are completely prepared to construct the waste incineration power plant. But we cannot move forward without environmental clearance.”

DNCC sources say that 80 acres of land have been acquired under the project. The power plant will be built on 30 acres, while the remaining 50 acres will be used for medical and e-waste landfills. The project includes the purchase of three hydraulic excavators, six chain dozers, and two long-arm excavators alongside land development, road and dam constructions. Among them, land development and equipment procurement have been completed. However, the project remains standstill due to the pending environmental clearance. A DNCC insider informed Bonik Barta that if the power plant cannot be launched, the main purpose of the project will be undermined.

Regarding the issue, Masud Iqbal Md Shameem, Director (Environmental Clearance) at the Department of Environment (DoE), told Bonik Barta, “We have not issued the environmental clearance for DNCC’s waste-to-energy project at the Aminbazar landfill.”

Experts say incineration or burning solid waste is a waste disposal method through which solid organic materials are burned, and the residue is converted into gaseous materials. But proper segregation of waste before incineration is essential to ensure environmental safety. This method can simultaneously burn thousands of tons of waste and generate thermal energy to produce electricity. To make the waste management system widespread in a developing country like Bangladesh, accurately implementing the incineration method is essential.

Emphasizing a comprehensive feasibility study before launching any project involving waste, Dr. Mohammad Shafiullah Siddique Bhuiyan, supervising engineer of the Waste Management Department of Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) and Director of the Expansion of Matuail Sanitary Landfill Project, told Bonik Barta, “It is time to rethink the waste management of the country’s large cities, including DNCC or DSCC. We no longer have the luxury of repeatedly acquiring land and filling it for dumping. That’s why we must adopt modern technologies. And for this, a complete study is required. In addition, waste-to-energy is highly sensitive. Unless properly operated and maintained, it can pose serious environmental risks.”

News Link: DNCC waste-to-energy project stalls as December deadline nears