The council’s capital programme committee agreed an update which told the large majority of engineering and design work is now successfully concluded and procurement of sub-contractors to undertake the construction, manufacture and installation of plant components is also nearly complete.

The Ness Energy Project Residual Waste Treatment plant is being built by Aberdeen City Council, Aberdeenshire Council, and Moray Council to dispose of non-recyclable waste by creating energy, and the main contractor is Acciona Industrial and Acciona Servicios Urbanos.

Aberdeen City Council capital programme committee convener Councillor Marie Boulton said: “The progress at the site is great and it is good to hear the facility is on target to start commissioning and be fully functional next year. We look forward to hearing more updates at committee.”

A report to the committee said the large majority of engineering and design work is now successfully concluded and procurement of sub-contractors to undertake the construction, manufacture and installation of plant components is also nearly complete.

Manufacture of many components of the boiler, turbine, generator and flue gas treatment systems is now largely complete with these items either installed or in storage in Aberdeen ready for installation. To date, the contractor has not reported any significant supply chain issues that will affect the works programme.

Progress on site has continued broadly in line with the revised programme with the formation of the waste bunker super- and substructure is now complete. Installation of the steel structure for the waste reception hall on the northern boundary of the site is now underway. The erection of the steel framework for the boiler is close to completion and installation of the boiler is well advanced. The turbine and generator set are now installed with the building steelwork also complete.

The report said significant progress has been made on the installation of the Flue Gas Treatment system and the 80m stack was erected in June 2021.

Many other peripheral activities have also been commenced such as installation of the air-cooled condensers and foundations for electrical buildings, weighbridges and fire control systems.

The report said the cyber-attack suffered by SEPA in December 2020 continues to severely hamper its ability to manage Permit applications. In recent months, progress has been made and the contractor reports that most issues relating to the PPC Permit application have been resolved with SEPA and a draft permit is imminent. SEPA will undertake a public consultation on the application before determining the outcome. The delay in finalising the Permit is not currently considered to be a significant risk to delivery of the project in line with the approved programme, the report said.

Since the March committee meeting, the contractor has maintained operations at the site by following additional COVID-19 related working practices in line with government and other relevant guidance. There has been minimal impact on project delivery albeit that a small number of positive COVID-19 tests in sub-contractor teams has resulted in staff self-isolating in line with COVID-19 regulations. In addition, other staff members have been required to self-isolate following contact from Test and Protect. To date, all staff have returned to work.

The report said current indications are that commissioning is anticipated to commence as planned in Spring 2022 with the facility fully operational by the end of 2022.