Bhubaneswar, May 29: Bhubaneswar and Cuttack municipal corporations today signed an agreement with a Mumbai-based company to set up a regional municipal solid waste (MSW) processing plant and landfill facility spread across 61.48 acres at Bhuasuni on the city outskirts.

Essel Bhubaneswar MSW Ltd, a consortium of two major players in solid waste management in the country (Essel Infraprojects Ltd and Rochem Separation Systems (India) Private Ltd), will set up the solid waste treatment plant within two years.

The project is likely to cost Rs 200 crore. After separating non-biodegradable and bio-degradable waste, it would turn it into compost from which 11.5MW of electricity would be generated as a by-product.

While the consortium company will bear the entire cost of setting up the plant, after two years, it will charge the municipal corporations for per ton of garbage treated after deducting the market selling price of the compost and power generated.

The plant will use nearly 350 tonnes of solid waste generated from Bhubaneswar and 150 tonnes from Cuttack every day. The solid waste management facility will charge Rs 324 per tonne of MSW from Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation after two years. It will then operate and maintain the plant for 20 years, says the agreement.

Benefits of the MSW plant at Bhuasuni, however, will be multi-dimensional.

While the solid waste management in the city will be streamlined and the compost could be used for farming, the energy produced will also help the state.

“The solid waste treatment facility will be an environment-friendly venture. The project will contribute towards developing a pollution-free environment, as it will treat garbage in a scientific manner. Citizens staying near the current landfill site will not complain about the stink,” said BMC municipal commissioner Krishan Kumar.

To ensure cleanliness in the city, the BMC is going to engage private operators and its own solid waste management staff in an effective manner within a week or two.

“We are going to streamline the house-to-house garbage collection so that in future, the solid waste from the city finds its way to the treatment plan,” said Kumar.

Gadakana resident Madan Majhi, a former councillor, said: “We had been hearing about this facility for the last five years. Good that it’s finally happening.”

Chief secretary Jugal Kishore Mohapatra, who presided over the agreement-signing ceremony at the secretariat, termed the event as a “major landmark in urban development in Odisha” as the site will be the first MSW treatment plant in the region.

Development commissioner-cum-additional chief secretary Injeti Srinivas said: “The work should start in time so that the people will benefit from the treatment plant. The land is under the occupation of the state government and the major hurdle of land acquisition will not be there.”

Director of municipal administration Sanjib Kumar Mishra said the 500 tonnes-per-day facility at Bhuasuni will also have facility to later increase the capacity to 600 tonnes.