Gold Coast launches waste-to-energy procurement process

The City of Gold Coast is launching an international Open Expression of Interest (EOI) to begin the process of identifying experienced partners to design, build, finance, operate and maintain a new residual waste-to-energy facility at Stapylton.

The Open EOI was released this week and will remain open until 30 March, marking a major milestone in the city’s long-term waste and resource recovery strategy as existing landfills approach capacity.

The proposed facility will be located within the ARRC Precinct at Stapylton, on City of Gold Coast-owned land within the Yatala Enterprise Area, leveraging existing waste infrastructure, strong transport connectivity and appropriate industrial buffers.

Acting Gold Coast Mayor Mark Hammel said the tender process would open the next chapter in one of the city’s most ambitious infrastructure projects.

“The ARRC Precinct is one of the most ambitious initiatives in our city’s history, turning waste into valuable resources and creating long-term environmental, social and economic benefits for our community and the broader region,” Hammel said.

“Bringing the ARRC to its full potential will benefit every Gold Coaster, including our 80,000 small businesses. Further, it will provide certainty to all South East Queensland region councils and the private sector, given ARRC will lead the way through responsible waste resource management and recycling.

“This tender process will open the next chapter in this exciting project.”

The waste-to-energy facility is planned to process residual municipal solid waste and commercial and industrial waste generated within the Gold Coast, with forecast residual waste volumes of more than 300,000 tonnes per annum by the early 2030s, after accounting for ongoing improvements in recycling.

While the facility’s core role is managing Gold Coast residual waste, it is being planned with scalable capacity to support broader regional waste management needs, subject to future agreements and approvals.

The facility is expected to recover energy from residual waste, generating electricity for use by the city, with output anticipated to be sufficient to power up to 80,000 homes, depending on the final technology solution and approvals.

ARRC Gold Coast Chief Executive Officer Grant Gabriel said the procurement process is designed to attract world-class proponents with proven experience in large-scale infrastructure delivery and long-term operations.

“This Open EOI is the first step towards finding the right partners to help deliver a safe, reliable and future-proof solution for residual waste,” Gabriel said.

“The feasibility phase is complete, and we are now progressing the detailed business case and environmental, health and planning approvals alongside procurement to ensure the project is well-positioned for delivery.

“We’ve deliberately structured this as a staged, interactive procurement process so industry can help refine the technical solution, commercial framework and risk allocation as the project moves forward.”

Interested proponents will be able to access the EOI documentation via the City of Gold Coast procurement portal VendorPanel from 17 February to 30 March.