POSCO E&C Completes Construction of the Largest Waste-to-power Plant in Poland

Completed construction according to strict European standards without penalty and without accidentsProcessing 220,000 tons of household waste annually, producing 11MWh of electricity and supplying 35MWh of district heating

SEOUL, South Korea, July 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — POSCO E&C (CEO Han Chan-kun) announced that it has successfully completed the construction of the waste-to-power plant in the Polish city of Krakow, which is valued at $250 million (including VAT).

The company obtained the permission to use the plant from the owner, Krakow Communal Holding, last year in November. They have also completed the construction and trial operations over the last 7 months prior to finally transferring the facility to the owner on June 27.

The waste-to-power plant of Krakow is the largest daily waste incinerating facility in Poland, which is capable of processing 220,000 tons of household waste annually in an eco-friendly way. By using the heat from incineration, it will produce 11MWh of electricity and supply 35MWh of district heating. Also, the ash from the waste incineration will be used as the material for road construction through a screening process.

Under three and a half years of construction, the site was well managed by POSCO E&C according to the strict environment standards of Poland. As a result, Krakow's Department of Labor and Regional Environmental Protection Agency found no violations in their safety inspection, recognizing it as a flawless site. The public officials of Krakow also praised the company's performance by saying "POSCO E&C jest najlepsze", meaning "POSCO E&C, the best".

The waste-to-power plant of Krakow was awarded the SARP Award of the Year in 2015 by the Association of Polish Architects in May. The award was given to the building with the best design among those completed in 2015. Also, it was selected as the top 10 among all outstanding public investment businesses in 2016 in the citizens' evaluation on public policies and projects of the central and local governments in Poland.

The first deputy mayor of Krakow Tadeusz Tzmiel said, "I am deeply impressed by POSCO E&C's technology and its ability to implement such strict management of the site. Also, I really appreciate the cutting edge facility that will be responsible for protecting our environment."

CEO Han Chan-kun pointed out, "The successful construction of the waste-to-power plant in Krakow is expected to become a solid foundation for POSCO E&C to enter the environment market in Poland and Eastern Europe. Also, it has raised the status of Korea's construction industry to a higher level."

Meanwhile, through the completion of the facility, Krakow will be able to kill two birds with one stone: meeting EU limits of landfill, and selling the electricity for a higher price by obtaining Green Energy certification from the polish government for the power generated by the plant.

Photo – http://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20160704/8521604360