PPP project concept involves design, building, financing, and long-term operation (DBFO) of waste treatment facilities. Usually, the private partner is expected to secure full financing for the project, deliver the facility, and guarantee its long-term performance, in exchange for remuneration that comes only after the service is effectively realized. These projects allow governments to tap into the private sector’s finance, expertise, and efficiency. A DBFO scheme is a good way to ensure that the plant’s design is optimized, that construction will be completed on time and on budget, and that long-term operational performance is achieved, as all these risks are on the private sector and are conditions for return on investment.
This goes beyond the typical benefits of DBFO schemes. It also allows the city to bundle the closure and remediation of the Vinča dumpsite which is not principally commercially viable as a stand-alone project:
- the remediation and long-term aftercare of the Vinča landfill,
- the diversion of min. 200,000 tons/year of demolition waste to a new recycling facility producing materials for construction and backfilling,
- the diversion of min. 340,000 tons/year of waste to an energy-from-waste facility supplying power to the grid and heat to the Belgrade district heating network,
- the construction of an engineered landfill with appropriate leachate treatment and landfill gas recovery systems, to dispose of any remaining municipal waste pending the development of a full-fledged source-segregated collection system allowing for increased recycling.