A private firm signed an agreement with City Hall last week to study the possibility of turning Phnom Penh’s mounting waste into useful energy.

Aunny Ieng, City Hall deputy governor, told the Post that the memorandum of understanding would allow Inter Far East Engineering Public Company Ltd (IFEC) to conduct a one-year study into the feasibility of using the capital’s garbage to “generate other products from the waste such as electricity”.

Ieng said that Phnom Penh’s growing waste problem needed to be tackled.

“There are 1,300 to 1,800 tonnes [of garbage] a day. Ten years ago, it was only about 800 to 1,000 tonnes,” he said yesterday, adding that a growing population and increased wealth could explain the growth of garbage.

Ieng said the agreement was “completely separate” to a contract City Hall awarded to Cintri, which has given the company sole rights to clean the capital’s streets since 2002.

However, he added, there “is the possibility of them working together”.

Following the meeting, Mean Chanyada, the city’s deputy director of administration, said he was proud that IFEC was interested in investing in Phnom Penh’s waste management.

Wichai Thavormwa Thanayong, director of IFEC, said he hoped to burn Phnom Penh’s trash in a waste-to-energy power plant to generate electricity, adding that, in just one day, 200 tonnes could be used to create 5 megawatts of power.

“This would reduce waste in the capital and make waste valuable, because it can generate power,” he said.