Deal signed with authorities for China Jinjiang waste-to-energy project

TWO years after the initial announcement, a public-private partnership (PPP) agreement has been signed for a waste-to-energy project in which China Jinjiang Environment Holding is investing.

Following a successful tender, the agreement was entered into by the local government and Yan'an Guojin Environmental Protection Energy Co, in which China Jinjiang holds a 49 per cent interest. The first phase of the project in Yan'an, in China's Shaanxi province, has an estimated total investment cost of 325.1 million yuan (S$64.8 million) with construction expected to be completed by end-2020.

When China Jinjiang's investment in Yan'an Guojin was first announced in 2017, the waste-to-energy project was reported to have been expected to start operations in the first half of 2019.

Under the terms of the concession secured by Yan'an Guojin, the firm will construct and run the plant under a build-operate-transfer model for a total concession period of 30 years from the date of the agreement, including a construction period of two years and an operation period of 28 years.

The project has a total designed waste treatment capacity of 1,300 tonnes per day - or 650 tonnes per day during the first phase - and a sludge treatment capacity of 100 tonnes per day.

China Jinjiang said its investment in the Yan'an project will be funded through a combination of bank borrowings and internal resources, and the project is not expected to have any material impact on earnings per share or net tangible assets per share for the current financial year ending Dec 31, 2019.