Hong Kong-headquartered company breaks ground on new waste-to-energy plant in Vietnam

China Everbright International has announced that it has officially commenced construction on its Can Tho waste-to-energy project in Vietnam.

Everbright International won the bid for the Can Tho project in July of 2016 on a BOO (Build-Operate-Own) model, and signed a project investment agreement with the Can Tho Construction Department of Vietnam in December 2016.

The company said its $47 million (€41m) waste-to-energy plant is capable of processing 400 tonnes of waste.

The project is expected to complete construction and commence operation in 2018. 

Speaking at the group's commencement ceremony, Vo Thanh Thong, chairman of Can Tho People's Committee, said: "The Municipal Government of Can Tho has been striving to tackle household waste treatment issues with the aim of enhancing people's livelihoods through environmental health efforts. At present, Can Tho collects around 650 tonnes of household waste daily, and the waste collection rate stays at 85%-90%.

“However, the solid waste is currently put into landfill or incinerated without generating any electricity. Given this situation, the municipal government proposed building a modernised household waste processing plant and invited bids for such project, with the expectation that it will apply advanced technology fully process the city's household waste. After the appraisal and visits to the bidders' projects, we unanimously chose Everbright International for the project. Going forward, I urge every department and institution in Can Tho to facilitate Everbright International in accomplishing the project construction as scheduled." 

Hu Yanguo, CEO of Environmental Energy Sector at Everbright International, added: "Can Tho is a vibrant, promising and economically dynamic city. The successful launch of Everbright International's first overseas waste-to-energy project in Can Tho will continuously provide the city with green vitality. Supported by various government departments, partners and local residents in Can Tho, Everbright International has been highly professional in the way it has pushed forward preparations for the project, strictly follows Vietnamese laws and regulations, and has completed all the preliminary procedures within only half a year.”

This story was written by Liz Gyekye, editor of Bioenergy Insight.