Contract delay slows down £330m waste disposal plan

THE banking and credit crisis has slowed the work on finalising Greater Manchester’s £330 million waste disposal contract.

More than 100 new jobs will be created when the contract to manage the region’s rubbish gets under way, including the complete refurbishment of Oldham’s Arkwright Street recycling centre.

And Oldham will get new plants to create green fuels, using waste which is left over after composting and recycling.

But Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority and Viridor Laing have still not closed the 25-year contract.

It is now in the credit approvals process, scheduled to take three to four weeks.

The authority says the majority of funding has already been secured including its own contribution of £70 million for additional works. The balance is subject to credit approvals by commercial banks.

Councillor Neil Swannick, chairman of the authority, said: “We are ready to sign the contract as soon as the banks have completed their processes.

“This is the largest waste services’ contract to be let in western Europe. Given the sheer volume of the documentation, coupled with the credit crisis, some delay is not unexpected, indeed it is normal for many major contracts of this size and duration to experience date changes.”