Kochi: The Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd’s (BPCL) proposal to set up a compressed biogas plant in Kochi as a permanent solution to the city’s waste management worries got a fillip on Wednesday with the Kerala government giving it permission to go ahead with the project.
The Pinarayi Vijayan-led cabinet gave the nod to making available to the oil and gas major in the public sector the land, water, and electricity required for setting up the plant. It has also been decided to give permission to the company to lay the pipeline necessary for the project. The government will ask the BPCL to submit a detailed proposal by October 1, an official statement said.
The BPCL proposed to set up the plant in Kochi after a massive fire at the Brahmapuram municipal solid waste management facility in March exposed the ill-planned and shoddily implemented project.
The plan is to set up a plant to make compressed biogas, also known as bioCNG, from the biodegradable waste generated in the city. As per the current plan, the facility will be built on a 10-acre space within the Brahmapuram dumping yard.
The BPCL has invited tenders for selecting a project management consultant. The deadline for submitting bids is July 28. The consultant is likely to be selected within a week after the deadline. The company wants the consultant to prepare a detailed project report within 45 days. Once the detailed project report is ready, it has to get the nod from the BPCL board.
A BPCL official told Onmanorama that the tender call has attracted a good response. Those who have worked on similar projects in Indore and Pune are among those who have expressed interest in the Kochi plant, the official said. At least five interested players have visited the Brahmapuram yard as part of a pre-bid assessment.
The original proposal submitted by BPCL to the government was to set up a plant that could process around 200 metric tonnes of biowaste a day. The volume has now been revised to 150 tonne a day based on inputs from the corporation.
Once the DPR gets all necessary approvals, the BPCL hopes to commission the project within a year. The proposal gained momentum after the BPCL made a presentation to Ministers P Rajeev and M B Rajesh in early May.
