Natural gas plant may replace Njeliyanparamba WtE project

As per a new source, the WtE project at Njeliyanparamba in Kozhikode district, Kerala, may be replaced by a natural gas plant. The natural gas facility may be implemented as a pilot project.

Reportedly, GAIL (India) Limited has already started first talks with Kozhikode Corporation and a proposal is to be submitted by end of September 2023.

Zonda Infratech was supposed to build a WtE plant along with a waste sorting plant. Four years after the announcement, the company has yet to complete the initial phase of bio-mining activities.

On 30 April 2023, the grace period of 30 days for the completion of biomining and capping activities at the Njeliyanparamba WtE project has ended, as also reported by Solid Waste India. The deadline was issued by Kozhikode Corporation to project owner Zonta Infratech.

The contract with Zonta Infratech for a 6.5-acre plot has been extended four times in the past due to delays in the work as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2023, the Kozhikode Corporation claimed that at this point, 80% of the works were finished and expected them to be completed during mid-May 2023. However, the opposition at the corporation claimed that no more than 25% were finished.

Back in June 2021, construction works were expected to commence already in August 2021 and to be completed until September 2023.