Hyflux, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to build new waste-to-energy plant in Tuas

A CONSORTIUM comprising Singapore-listed Hyflux and its Japanese partner Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has been chosen by the Singapore government to build a new waste-to-energy (WTE) plant at Tuas South Avenue 3.

The open tender for the plant had attracted six bids from both local and international companies. At a first-year cost of S$55.19 per tonne, the winning consortium submitted the most competitive offer to build the plant and provide WTE services over a 25-year period - from 2019 to 2044.

The tender was called last November, in view of the expected increase in the amount of waste disposed of in the future due to economic and population growth. The plant is part of the National Environment Agency's (NEA) long-term plan to meet Singapore's future waste management needs.

In 2014, Singapore's four WTE plants incinerated about 7,870 tonnes of waste per day - equivalent to 1,124 garbage trucks of seven-tonne capacity.

Hyflux and MHI will now form a concession company to enter into a services agreement with NEA to provide 3,600 tonnes per day of incineration capacity.

The plant will be Singapore's sixth. The first plant, Ulu Pandan Incineration Plant, was decommissioned in 2009 after 30 years of operation.

The sixth WTE plant will be Singapore's largest and most energy-efficient plant. It will be able to produce 2,880MWh of electricity per day, or 800kWh per tonne of waste incinerated under standard operating conditions.

The electricity will be used to power the plant and the excess power will go towards supplying Singapore's needs.

Currently, the four existing plants generate an average of just 450kWh per tonne of waste incinerated, and the total electricity generated supplies 2 to 3 per cent of the nation's electricity needs.

The sixth WTE plant will also be Singapore's most land-efficient plant. Situated on a 4.8-hectare site, it will have a processing capacity of 750 tonnes per day per hectare.

In comparison, Keppel Seghers Tuas WTE Plant, which is currently Singapore's most compact plant, has a processing capacity of just 500 tonnes per day per hectare.