GVMC starts trial run of waste-to-energy processing plant in Vizag

In a green initiative by the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), the trial run of the waste-to-energy (WTE) processing plant at Kapuluppada, Vizag, began on Saturday. As a part of the trial run, 500 tons of waste was processed for generating electricity. 

To mark this occasion, GVMC Commissioner, G.Srijana, flagged off the closed compact vehicle in which solid waste was sent to the plant. She also enquired about the functioning of various machinery and went into the nitty gritty’s of the plant with the officials. The Commissioner also planted a sapling on the premises. 

GVMC Superintendent Engineer, Ganesh Kumar and the staff from Jindal Infrastructure Urban Infrastructure Limited (JIFT), amongst many were present at the occasion. 

It may be recalled that the GVMC had entered into an agreement with the Jindal ITF Urban Infrastructure Limited for the waste-to-energy plant in Vizag in 2016. In 2018, around 18 acres of land at Kapuluppada was given on lease for a period of 25 years to build the plant. The civic body will reportedly be delivering 950 metric tonnes of waste on a daily basis for the plant after the inauguration of the project. The Andhra Pradesh Eastern Power Distribution Company Limited (APEPDCL) will procure power from the plant for 25 years. The earlier scheduled commercial operation date was July 2020. However, the deadline has been extended to January due to the lockdown and labour issues. 

Kapuluppada Dump Yard

Located 30 kilometres away from urban Visakhapatnam, the Kapuluppada dump yard has been operational since 2007. In December 2019, officials estimated that the 100-acre yard was home to nearly three lakh metric tonnes of solid waste. With this new initiative, as much as 15 MW of power will be generated from solid waste at the waste-to-energy plant at Kapuluppada.