Cebu city to turn waste into energy

CEBU – The Mandaue City Government is working with a group of mechanical engineers to put up a facility that can convert wastes into energy in the relocation site for families living along waterways.

The Philippine Society of Mechanical Engineers (PSME)-Mandaue Chapter has designed a biogas system for the 6.5-hectare relocation site in Barangay Paknaan.

The group unveiled the design of the P72-million facility during yesterday’s opening of the Mechanical Engineering Week.

“We see the 6.5-hectare relocation site as a candidate for a self-sus- taining community when it comes to energy,” said Engr. Siegfreid Sia of the PSMS-Mandaue Chapter in a press conference yesterday.

The PSME-Mandaue Chapter entered into a memorandum of agreement with the City Gov- ernment last year for the installation of a biogas reactor in the site.

The group made the design which is still subject to deliberation by the City Engineering Office and the City Council.

Tonypet Juanico, head of the City Housing and Ur- ban Development Office, said his office and the City Engineering Office are still looking for a space where the biogas reactor can be put up.

Sia, who chairs the Mechanical Engineering Week celebration, said the facility will allow residents of the relocation site to enjoy lower expenses for electricity.

He said the City may build and operate the facility in partnership with the private sector.

“We can help the City find partners for a BOT (build-operate-transfer) scheme,” he said in a press conference.

Engr. Joemarie Arib, who presented the project design, said the biogas reactor, with a capacity of 1,000 kilowatts, can allow the community to save P51.8 million every year. RSB