Panther Recycling Corporation of Ontario Canada on Friday formally submitted its proposal for the construction of a $6 billion modular solar waste recycling facility; it also proposes to build for free, a modern morgue for the capital.
The proposal was submitted in response to the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development’s reopening of the process after it scrapped the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Natural Globe Inc.
The withdrawal of the MOU by Cabinet on November 19 came following questioning by the media after it was revealed that Natural Globe Inc had only built a prototype of the facility proposed. Further, Natural Globe Inc’s Canada-based CEO Mohammed Osman was accused of misrepresenting Andriana Webster, daughter of Human Services Minister Jennifer Webster, as one of the primary investors of the project.
The new advertisement for the project appeared in the Mirror on December 7. It said the project will be a private/public partnership and the government requires that all intended activities be operated and managed under the guidelines and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency. It said further that government “prefers to collaborate with those who have previous working experience providing identical services in other countries where records of operations and/or services are accessible.”
As could be gleaned from the advertisement, the Ministry of Local Government will be handling the process. This is so even in the face of strong criticism for its processing and evaluation of the aborted MOU.
In a comment to Stabroek News following the cancellation of the MOU, Osman had said that it was not clear whether his company would be resubmitting a proposal. He said that at the time this was something the company’s board had not completed discussing.
President of Panther Recycling Corporation Michael Mosgrove told Stabroek News yesterday that he flew to Guyana from Canada to personally hand deliver the proposal, which he did at about 15:30 hrs on Friday.
Mosgrove said his company will, at its own expense, establish on property owned or managed by the government a Cdn$26 million solar-powered recycling centre and waste management programme for the efficient elimination of waste. He said too that the company will solely be responsible for the importation of equipment and the payment of customs duties or the obtaining of any waivers and said the government was indemnified of all financial obligations of the arrangement.
Mosgrove wants the government to provide 25 acres of land on which the proposed facility will be constructed for a period of no less than 15 years and wants duty-free import and export for a term of no less than 15 years. The company is asking government for a 10-year tax holiday for corporate and individual taxes.
He said in the proposal that he wants the government to pay a rate of US$100 per ton for waste collected and is asking that government partner with Panther Recycling Corporation to roll out an aggressive public relations and advisory campaign.
“We proposed a new modern morgue to Mayor Hamilton Green about one month ago. We said to him that if the government gives us the opportunity to build the recycling plant, we will build the morgue for free,” he said.
“We can do a lot of things to improve the Guyanese lifestyle if people work with us,” he said.
According to the proposal, which this newspaper has seen, the facility will be solar powered and multi-sorting. The programme promises up to a 37 per cent reduction in materials going to the landfill.
The project will include transfer stations throughout Guyana to ensure efficient delivery of product to the plant. It is meant to process everything from paper to tyres. It will cater for hazardous waste coming from hospitals and health systems. The programme also includes curb-side pickup by trucks owned by Panther Recycling Corporation.
“The vendor will work with the government, or its local government, to start up at least three additional manufacturing programmes from the recycled goods. This strengthens our local workforce and [makes available] products which can be sold abroad or sold nationally to create an income,” the proposal said.
“Panther’s modular recycling centres are set to the demands of the areas. Some have straight sort and packaging lines while others would include tyre shredders, medical waste modules and even food waste,” the document said.
“Our plants come complete with light and electronics. Our expected cost is the capital cost of set up and the first year’s operations. This is an estimated Cdn$30 million,” the proposal said.
The proposal said that the direct and indirect benefits for the country will be “endless” with up to 5,000 persons finding work. It said that it is possible to also open new facilities with respect to the recycled products.
“Our processing lines are the best in the business with top notch automation to provide the highest amount of yield to our programme. All our equipment is US or Canadian made and our skilled staff ensures its ability to work perfectly from the first day,” it said.
“The separation method is automated with human interaction and on average the plant can run up to 500,000 tonnes per year,” the proposal said.
Within the proposal was a draft Memorandum of Understanding. Hoping that the government through the ministry will affix a signature to it, Panther said that it would be able to start work within 30 days following the signing of an agreement with the government. It said the facility could be completed within six months.
The facility is also to have a biofuel component to it and Panther said it could generate up to 80 megawatt or power which could be supplied to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL).
The company performed a feasibility study in 2012 and the outlook was good for the proposed recycling programme, the proposal said. It said that it also looked at studies the government had done in 2003 and 2004.
“Our study also included population and growth relative to the garbage produced by a single person,” it said.
The proposal said that in 15 years, government can make the company an offer to purchase the facility. Further, the company at the end of the 15 years could opt to sell the complete programme to a qualified purchaser.
Panther has operations in every parish in Jamaica and is in the process of installing a project in Bahrain.
