The Business Line 31.08.2009
Ramky, Antony Waste vying for Chennai Koyambedu market contract
| Winner to maintain the fruits and vegetables complex, power plant. |
The project will handle 30 tonnes of organic waste daily and produce about 230 KW power and 10 tonnes of wet compost cakes.
R. Balaji
Chennai, Aug. 30 Two bidders are competing for the integrated solid waste management project to maintain the 60-acre fruits and vegetables market in the Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex and the biomethanation facility to generate power from organic waste. The bids have been called by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).
The Hyderabad-based Ramky Group and Antony Waste Handling Cell of Maharashtra are the two bidders for the operation and maintenance of the fruits and vegetables market that is part of a 300-acre market complex. Both companies are among the leading players in solid waste management.
Ramky Group is a diversified group with a presence in environment management, infrastructure and real estate development. Ramky Enviro Engineers, a group company handles municipal waste projects in Bangalore, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore and Kottayam.
Antony Waste Handling is a part of the Antony Group which has a presence in automotive industry and waste handling equipment and handles waste management projects in Maharashtra, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Noida.
The Koyambedu market houses over 3,000 wholesale shops for fruits and vegetables and is considered one of the largest of its kind in Asia. Over 100,000 shoppers come to the market daily and the facility generates over a 100 tonnes of waste a day.
The winner of the bid will maintain the complex and the 250 kw power plant which uses the organic waste to generate power through biomethanation, a process that uses the combustible methane-rich gas generated during the decomposition of the waste to fuel the power plant.
The plant was established by the CMDA with the assistance of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. Out of the total project cost of Rs 5.50 crore, the Ministry has contributed Rs 3.75 crore, while the CMDA and the Market Management Committee consisting of representatives of the trade and authorities has contributed Rs 1.75 crore to this project.
The project will handle 30 tonnes of organic waste daily and produce about 230 KW power and 10 tonnes of wet compost cakes. The net power after in-house consumption shall be about 200 KW.
