THE WASTE-TO-ENERGY (WTE) project in the city will be “repackaged” anew, an official from the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) Davao disclosed on Tuesday.
Atty. Ma. Mercedes V. Dumagan, DENR XI regional director, said the the National Economic Development Authority- Investment Coordination Committee thumbed down the previous proposal.
“Meron na sanang budget for WTE project two years ago. It was lodged before the EMB (Environmental Management Bureau), and then it lapsed because they did not get the NEDA ICC Approval,” Dumagan said during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas on July 16.
Dumagan said the underlying reasons for the disapproval were the legal framework and project ownership.
“It will come out now as a new project and we have to submit it again after it has been repackaged, meaning a conduct of another feasibility study again,” she said.
However, the official was unable to disclose the allocated funds.
When asked if the project would push through, she said it has to undergo a certain process before getting the approval of NEDA ICC.
To recall, Councilor Temujin “Tek” Ocampo revealed in May during Aprubado sa Konseho that an Australian firm was interested in funding the city’s WTE project.
Ocampo attested that the company, along with its European partners, has a great track record in energy generation and is coordinating with the Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC) for the necessary documents.
However, he said this won’t push through yet as the city has a standing agreement with the Japanese Government on the project.
The initially proposed facility will have a capacity of about 600 metric tons of waste producing 12 megawatts of energy. The city environment and natural resources office collects waste close to about 650- 800 tons of garbage daily.
