Mexico City approves funding for waste-to-energy plant

Mexico City's legislative assembly approved a bill on Tuesday authorizing the use of leftovers from federal funds for the construction of the El Sarape waste-to-energy plant.

The bill, submitted by the joint legislative commissions on budget, public account and finance, was met with opposition from left-leaning party Morena, which argued that the project would indebt the city for 30 years and that funds should instead be used in the city's post-quake reconstruction efforts.

Physical confrontations between some legislators ensued during the debate, when a Morena lawmaker submitted a motion to try to halt the approval of the bill.

Construction of the plant will require estimated investments of 11.5bn pesos (US$603mn). The project will be developed under a 33-year service provision project (PPS) model, meaning the federal government will start paying for the project once the plant supplies the stipulated amount of electricity. On completion of the term, the plant will become property of the local government.

In April, a consortium comprising water and waste solutions firm Proactiva Medio Ambiente Mexico and French resource management company Veolia won the contract to design, build and operate the facility.

About 4,500t of the almost 13,000t of solid waste produced daily will be processed in the plant, relieving the community of around 2bn pesos per year in expenses related to transporting solid waste to local landfills, according to the city government.

The processed waste will serve to generate power – up to 965,000MWh/y – for the capital's subway.

Once complete, the facility will not only be the first of its kind in Latin America, but also the largest in the world.

Bordo Poniente landfill, the city's largest dump and one of the world's biggest open-air landfills, has been selected as location for the plant. Construction is expected to finish in 2018 so that operations can begin late that year or early 2019.