Magħtab incinerator tender to be re-issued after shortlisted companies fail to submit final bid

The tender to build a new incinerator at Magħtab will be re-issued after none of the three shortlisted companies submitted a final bid, Wasteserv said.

In October 2020, three consortia were shortlisted by Wasteserv after they responded to a pre-qualification questionnaire for the €400 million investment.

The bidders – FCCMA-Hitachi JV Malta, Urbaser-Terna and Consortium Suez-Tecnimont-Termomeccanica – were then invited to participate in dialogue with Wasteserv before submitting a final bid.

However, after more than a year of talks, last Friday, Wasteserv announced that none of the three consortia that participated in the competitive dialogue procedure submitted a final bid.

A statement announcing that ground preparation works for the incinerator are expected to be completed this year, included a one-line reference to the tender setback, saying that Wasteserv will issue a fresh preliminary qualification questionnaire.

This means that excavation works that formed part of the original plans have been hived off and a separate tender will be awarded.

Sources close to the project said the completion of excavation works later this year would help mitigate some of the time lost as a result of the tender setback. The sources indicated that there is market interest in the project despite the setback.

The contract for the design and construction of the facility was estimated at between €160 million and €190 million with a further financial outlay of €200 million for commissioning and operation over a 20-year period.

The incinerator project is part of a holistic strategy that is being implemented at Magħtab, which has been dubbed the ECOHIVE Complex. The complex will include a new recycling facility and a new organic processing plant.

The Planning Authority approved the outline permit for the incinerator earlier this month. The waste agency says an incinerator will help Malta move away from its dependence on landfilling for non-recyclable waste.