CWS officially launched a $1bn bid

How do you feel about the launch of the landmark project?

California Waste Solutions (CWS) won the bid last year but it wasn’t until last May that the city’s council approved the project. I felt extremely happy because CWS has finally launched a hard-fought bid after two years of preparations and negotiations. The bid contains three packages including recycling, landfill and tree processing. Our competitor Waste Management, the largest American firm in waste treatment is operating a large-scale landfill. Therefore, when we won the bid, they hindered us from transferring our waste to the landfill for many reasons. After consideration, we decided to hand over the landfill and tree processing packages to Waste Management and take charge of the valuable recycling package. The former package has a duration of 10 years, while our package was extended to 20 years after we persuaded the council.

In the coming time, CWS will collect 600 tonnes of waste per day using our two existing facilities with the combined treatment capacity exceeding the entire amount of waste in Oakland. CWS is also purchasing a 20 hectare plot of land to build a $87-million recycling plant with a daily processing capacity of 10,000 tonnes. After two years of construction, the company will shut down the two older facilities and transfer to the state-of-art one.

What is your view about the allegation of Vietnam Waste Solutions (VWS) as a monopoly in Ho Chi Minh City’s waste treatment market?

In the US, the city’s council always appointed only one waste treatment company for the period from 10 to 20 years. However, the selected company is monitored rigorously with clear requirements.

In our case, the allegation is false because VWS as well as many other companies are licensed to operate in waste treatment in Ho Chi Minh City. In terms of price disparity, the company has covered the costs of environmental protection and hi-tech unlike other landfills in the city.

VWS has made a contribution to the country’s development by creating employment for hundreds of Vietnamese and contributing billions of VND to the state budget every year. Our Da Phuoc integrated waste management facility is also one of the most modern waste treatment facilities in the world, which can handle up to 5,000 tonnes of waste per day. It not only processes waste meeting environmental protection standards, but also improves the environment of the area surrounding the landfill.

Ho Chi Minh City is urgently calling for investment in waste-to-power projects. Do you see this as an opportunity?

After many years of research in Vietnam, I figured out that the investment of incineration for power generation would be high but the purchase price of clean electricity would be low. In this case, if combustion fumes and wastes are not handled properly, it would be detrimental to the environment.

With our responsibility for homeland, VWS has worked with the company specialising in producing waste incineration machines to order small-scale equipment to meet the needs of Vietnam. This incinerator is now 95 per cent complete and has undergone testing with the initial cost of $20 million to $30 million each. We will import this product to Vietnam and export to other Asian countries that share similar waste issues. It would take 10 month to install the incinerator with the expected price of $30 per tonne of waste. However, if the government provides support of power tariffs at higher rates, this price will decrease.

Could you update the progress of VWS’ project in the southern province of Long An?

VWS broke ground on a large-scale waste treatment facility named Green Environment Technology Park in November last year in Long An. Covering 1,760ha, the facility consists of landfills, a hi-tech sewage treatment facility, a compost fertiliser factory and a waste-to-power plant. The facility will process different types of waste, including household waste, hazardous waste, medical waste, industrial waste, electronic waste, sewage and old tires. During the first phase, VWS is investing nearly $500 million into this project using the most advanced technology imported from the US. Once completed, the facility will be able to employ from 8,000 to 10,000 people and meet the demand of waste treatment for the southern key economic zone.