Efforts to establish construction waste recycling plant face obstacles as contractor backs out

A four-acre site has been earmarked at Ariyamangalam dump yard for establishing the recycling unit with the capacity to process 50 tonnes of construction waste daily

The Tiruchi Corporation is facing obstacles in establishing the construction and demolition waste recycling plant for the city as the identified agency has backed off from the task.

A four-acre site has been earmarked at Ariyamangalam dump yard for establishing the recycling unit with the capacity to process 50 tonnes of construction waste daily. On an average, Tiruchi city generates more than 25 tonnes of construction debris every day.

Considering the surge in the accumulation of construction debris, the civic body revived its long-pending proposal to set up the recycling plant in 2023. A tender was floated in November to set up the facility at an estimated cost of ₹3 crore. The tender was awarded to a Mumbai-based agency to collect, process, and reuse building debris; however, the firm has refused to take up the work.

The civic body has gone for a retender. “We have floated a new tender to identify a suitable agency. The work on the plant is expected to commence in January,” said a senior Corporation official. The project is expected to be completed within a year.

The facility would be set up using the Design, Build, Finance, Operate, and Transfer (DBFOT) recycling plant under the public-private partnership model.

According to the officials, a private agency with experience in recycling construction and demolition waste will be roped in to collect debris from builders and residents, transport and recycle it in the plant to produce flooring tiles, pavement blocks, brick or precast material that would be sold in the market to manage the expenses of operating the plant.

The civic body would earmark four collection points across the city to dump the construction waste from where the agency would collect them. The construction and demolition waste is often dumped on river banks and vacant plots, and the disposal of such waste remains an uphill task, the official said.

Although the proposal was mooted in 2020, it failed to materialise because of lack of interest among recycling plant operators.

Published - October 28, 2024 07:06 pm IST