The fate of a controversial BD283.5 million ($750 million) waste recycling plant in Bahrain hangs in the balance after councillors on Wednesday again refused to grant it permission.

Instead, they agreed the project would have to meet certain regulations before it could be given the go-ahead and a technical report should be prepared to examine key issues.

Once it has been submitted, Southern Municipal Councillors will hold another meeting to decide whether to approve or reject the plant.

The issue was discussed at the council's headquarters in East Riffa, in its first meeting since the summer break.

'The plant has to be in a non-residential area and should be built in a location less windy, to not carry the dangerous gases to homes,' said council chairman Ali Al Muhannadi.

'We are not against the plant.

'On the contrary we think it should have been there 20 years ago, we just need to find the right location for it.'

Al Muhannadi was speaking as councillors submitted a report on the issue following a 10-day trip to Europe, where they toured similar plants in France, Monaco and the UK.

He said that if the other Municipal Council chairmen wanted to locate the plant in their area, the Municipalities and Agriculture Ministry would choose the most appropriate location.

'The decision on whether the project will be built within our governorate is now in the hands of Municipalities and Agriculture Minister Mansoor bin Rajab,' said Al Muhannadi.

'I think Bahrain needs more than one waste recycling plant to help solve the problem we are facing with the waste and pollution.'

Two councillors said they were against locating the plant in their constituencies, saying it would only add to the pollution levels.

'They have suggested the plant be in the Al Farsiyah area. I am against it because the area already has many factories, we don't need more,' said Nasser Al Mansouri.

'The area is already full and doesn't have any more capacity to build another factory.

'Also, the pollution the plant will produce will affect Askar area, which is the nearest to Al Farsiyah and this will cause a lot of damage to Askar and to the constituency.'

Councillor Dr Mubarak Al Dossari was also against the plant being located in his area.

'I also think it should not be placed in the sixth constituency, both areas have a huge number of factories, we need to place the recycling plant somewhere else to ease the number of factories and to also help the traffic flow,' he said.

Dr Al Dossari said that if the plant was located in the Southern Governorate, then garbage trucks from every municipality would dump their loads at the plant causing major traffic jams.

'I propose the plant be located in the centre of Bahrain to ease the traffic, maybe somewhere near Tubli Bay to also help recycle all the waste the bay suffered throughout the years.'

Environmentalists had earlier slammed the Cabinet's plan to build the plant in Askar, to cope with mounting refuse problems.

They said they were completely against the idea of incineration, claiming it produced poisonous gases.

The Southern Municipal Council blocked the project in June, saying that Askar residents were against having the project near their homes, despite assurances that it would be safe.

However, it is now planning to allow the project, but at a different site behind Alba's plant.

The project will be done by the French firm KNIM, which was selected by the Tender Board for the project.

The firm says it will use the latest technology, to transform domestic waste into liquid gas for industrial energy and possibly domestic use. - TradeArabia News Service