PH’s first WTE facility to rise in Iloilo City

ILOILO CITY: The city government here is set to receive the first waste-to-energy (WTE) project in the country through a public-private partnership.

A ceremonial contract exchange between the city government and Metro Pacific Water (MPW), a wholly owned subsidiary of Metro Pacific Water Investments Corp. (MPWIC), was held on Friday, March 1.

Under the contract, MPW will construct a state-of-the-art Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility (ISWMF) that would treat, recover, and convert the city’s waste into refuse-derived fuel and biogas.

The WTE project will cost P2.3 billion and will be constructed on a 3-hectare property in Barangay Ingore, La Paz.

“This outcome marks a historic milestone for us — building one of the country’s most technologically advanced waste recovery facilities only here in Iloilo City,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.

The ISWMF, set for construction in October this year, is designed to process up to 475 tons of solid waste per day.

The facility can generate up to 3.5 megawatts of power, which can augment to 10 megawatts for the desalination plant and reduce water costs for consumers.

The ISWMF can also provide power to around 5,000 households, with any excess power being sold to the grid through Global Power, a sister company of MPWIC.

Treñas said that the city government will also receive a share of the power generated from the facility.

Jose Maria Madara, president and CEO of Metro Pacific Water, disclosed that the permitting process has already commenced to secure environmental clearances from regulatory bodies, including the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

“The process and the technologies that we are adopting for this project will be fully compliant with the environmental laws of the country. We are confident that we will be able to meet those standards,” he said.

Madara said the project is not an incinerator-based facility which emits toxins and pollutants that harm local air quality.

“We will not incinerate. The process and the technology that we are adopting in this project will be fully compliant with the environmental laws of the country,” he stressed.

The project received endorsement from the city council through the approval of two resolutions in November 2023.

Councilor Ely Estante Jr., chairman of the Committee on Public Service, Environmental Protection and Ecology, emphasized the project’s potential to address challenges faced by the city’s Material Recovery Facility in Barangay Calahunan, Mandurriao district,

He mentioned that the city’s 3.5-hectare sanitary landfill is expected to reach capacity by 2026.