A new intervention aimed at improving the operation of the Pentakomo OEDA is being launched by the Water Development Department (WDD), with a €160,000 tender for the construction and installation of conveyor belts that will enable the removal of the organic fraction from the mechanical sorting line.
Speaking to “Entrepreneurial Limassol”, Kyriakos Kapris, Senior Executive Engineer at the WDD and Head of the Solid Waste Management Service, said that the creation of a separate line for removing the organic fraction separated through the screens is considered crucial. Under the facility’s current configuration, as it was handed over to the state, this process cannot be carried out effectively.
The new infrastructure is expected to have an immediate positive impact on the quality of the materials produced. In particular, removing a greater proportion of organic impurities will improve the quality of the secondary RDF fuel, while also increasing the quantities that can be directed towards energy recovery. At the same time, it is expected to contribute to higher recovery rates of recyclable materials from mixed waste and achieve greater purity, facilitating their subsequent sale in the recycling market.
This involves a network of conveyor belts that will remove the organic fraction from municipal mixed waste and constitutes an interim improvement solution until the overall operation of the Pentakomo OEDA is assigned to a new contractor. With regard to the overall condition of the Pentakomo OEDA, the need for repairs, maintenance and partial upgrading of the facility remains, according to the WDD, essentially unchanged.
From the first day it took over the operation of the OEDA, the Department has been advancing procedures for the appointment of a new contractor, who will undertake the repair, partial upgrading and operation of the facility for a transitional period of 5+1+1 years. In February 2026, approval was secured from the Directorate-General for Development of the Ministry of Finance for the Project Concept Note (PCN) concerning the interim solution for the repair and partial upgrading of the OEDA. A Feasibility Study for the project has also been prepared and submitted, and the relevant approval is now awaited.
Based on decisions taken to date, the interim upgrading of the Limassol OEDA will include the restoration of Phases A and B of the landfill site and the construction of biogas collection and management infrastructure; the construction of Phase C of the landfill; repairs to the mechanical sorting facility; the upgrading of the biological treatment unit for leachate and other liquid waste; as well as the construction of a stabilisation unit for the organic fraction of municipal solid waste, in order to ensure compliance with legislative requirements.
Indicative of the interventions required for the day-to-day operation of the facility is the fact that, since the state took over the OEDA until today, the WDD has entered into more than 180 contracts covering a wide range of operational needs. According to Mr Kapris, the primary objective has been, and remains, to ensure that the OEDA can continue to receive and manage waste from the Limassol district without interruption, preventing the risk of a public health crisis and improving, to the extent possible, the particularly deteriorated and poorly maintained condition in which the facility was handed over.
An assessment of the current condition of the equipment has already been completed by an independent accredited company. The relevant study identifies specific cases where it recommends replacing part of the equipment. For all machinery and installations, however, the cost of repair is being compared in parallel with the cost of replacement, so that final decisions can be based on technical and financial data.
There are also new developments regarding the timetable for the major tender for the contractor who will take over operation of the facility during the transitional period. While the target had previously been to launch the tender towards the end of 2026, the WDD now estimates that a more realistic scenario would be to issue the tender in early 2027 and award the contract to a new contractor within the same year.
Mr Kapris attributes the adjustment to the timetable to the complexity of the tender, the large volume of technical information and approvals required from other Departments and Services, as well as the fact that solid waste management does not fall within the WDD’s core mission and responsibilities. The timetable is also subject to the condition that no external delays arise, such as difficulties in securing approvals or appeals before the Tenders Review Authority.
Despite the challenges, efforts to recover and utilise recyclable materials from the waste arriving at the OEDA are also continuing. The quantities recovered through manual sorting and the partial operation of the mechanical sorting facility are offered for sale through WDD auction procedures. To date, three successful auctions have been completed, covering, among other materials, ferrous metals, aluminium, metal waste from mechanical sorting, paper and cardboard, PET, glass, as well as smaller quantities of HDPE, PE, PP and other recyclable materials.
According to the WDD, efforts are now focused on further increasing the facility’s capacity to recover larger quantities of recyclable materials. Removing these materials from the facility simultaneously serves the objectives of the circular economy and improves health and safety conditions at the OEDA. According to the Department, a significant number of serious problems that existed when the state took over the facility have already been addressed to a large extent.
