Baguio eyes WTE plants on Pinsao lot

THE BAGUIO City government is looking at a five-hectare property in Pinsao village as potential site for waste-to-energy (WTE) plants as well as the relocation of the slaughterhouse. In a statement, Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong said he already had an initial discussion with the “claimant of the property,” which covers a total of 8.5 hectares, and appropriate documentation is currently being processed. “The city’s priority development projects that will be established in the property will be the bio-mass waste to energy plant, the residual waste to energy plant and the relocation of the slaughterhouse,” the local government said. Baguio City has signed an agreement with PNOC Renewables Corp., the renewable energy arm of state-run Philippine National Oil Co., for the development of a WTE facility, which can also be possibly used by neighboring towns in Benguet. The local government earlier identified a portion of the property within the Baguio Dairy Farm that was ceded by the Agriculture department to the city as the site for the proposed Japanese WTE technology. However, initial assessment indicated that it was not the most suitable site for the project. “The proposed… bio-mass and residual waste to energy plants will help the local government address the current solid waste management woes that it is currently experiencing considering that it is still hauling the generated residual waste outside the city which is eating a huge chunk of its annual budget,” the city government said.