The project, a 30:70 joint venture between Balfour Beatty and Urbaser, is a 28-year PPP contract to design, build and operate a £100m  sustainable waste treatment facility for Essex County Council and Southend-on-Sea Borough Council.

Balfour Beatty will invest 30% of the required equity, approximately £7m, in the project which is expected to reach financial close in the first half of 2012.

Balfour Beatty, in joint venture with Urbaser, will be involved in the design, construction and commissioning of the facility.

the proposed waste plant will include:

– an anaerobic digestion plant treating mixed organic waste;

– a materials recycling facility to recover mixed dry recyclables such as paper and plastics;

– a mechanical biological treatment facility for the treatment of residual municipal and residual commercial and industrial wastes to produce a solid recovered fuel;

– a de-inking and paper pulping facility to recycle paper;

– a combined heat and power  plant to burn solid recovered fuel to produce electricity, heat and steam.

These facilities will then be handed over to Urbaser to operate from mid-2015 onwards.

The waste facility will be capable of treating up to 417,000 tonnes of municipal waste a year.

Today’s announcement comes just three weeks after Balfour Beatty and Urbaser were awarded Gloucestershire’s 28-year Residual Waste Project.

Balfour Beatty Chief Executive, Ian Tyler, said: “Much like the Gloucestershire project, the Essex award demonstrates the breadth and flexibility of our investment business model and further strengthens our position in the growing waste sector.

“This project will play a major role in delivering Essex and Southend-on-Sea’s waste management strategies, as well as providing a boost to the local economy through construction-related jobs and full-time employment and apprenticeship positions once the facility is operational.”