With the Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant at Brahmapuram in Kochi, Kerala, yet to achieve its optimum capacity of 150 tonnes a day nearly six months after its commissioning, the health standing committee of the Kochi Corporation has placed before the council a proposal for setting up another plant of similar capacity at Brahmapuram.

G3 Renewables Private Limited, which operates a facility at Willingdon Island for the Cochin Port Authority, has submitted a proposal to run a plant for the Corporation for which it has sought three acres of land on a 25-year lease. The proposal will be taken up at the council meeting scheduled for Thursday (August 13, 2026).

“We have been left with no alternative but to opt for a new plant since the CBG facility continues to function at a fraction of its capacity. At present, the only stable facilities available to the Corporation are the two Black Soldier Fly-enabled plants with a collective capacity of 100 tonnes,” said health standing committee chairperson Seena Gokulan.

The company has agreed to establish the plant with an investment of ₹25-₹30 crore within eight to 10 months of approval. The Corporation will retain the right to reclaim the land within 30 months if the company’s performance is found unsatisfactory. “The highlight of the proposal is that the Corporation will not have to spend any money, and the land will not be alienated,” Ms. Gokulan added.

Poultry feed , biofuel

The proposed plant will employ proprietary mechanical processing technology recognised by the Suchitwa Mission. The process is designed to convert 30-35% of the waste into poultry feed and 8-10% into biofuel. The health standing committee members were impressed with the company’s Willingdon Island facility during a visit last month.

The company has agreed to collect waste using suction trucks from the Corporation’s primary collection centres for a fee of 20 paise a kg. Pending completion of the Brahmapuram plant, 10-12 tonnes of waste from selected divisions in West Kochi will be treated at the Willingdon Island facility.

LDF questions lack of EoI

However, the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF), which registered its protest in the committee, has questioned the direct allotment of the project without inviting Expressions of Interest (EoI). “The CBG plant will reach optimum capacity after its stabilisation period. Once that happens, where will the Corporation find sufficient waste for the new plant, given that the city generates less than 300 tonnes a day? Moreover, the company has no experience in running a plant of such scale. The Willingdon Island facility is of much smaller capacity,” said V.A. Sreejith, LDF parliamentary party leader and member of the health standing committee.

He further alleged that the committee’s visit to the Willingdon Island plant was conducted without LDF members, who visited it only after the committee had passed the proposal with the United Democratic Front’s majority.

Published - August 11, 2026 03:52 pm IST