the essential
Will the construction of the future Mirail incinerator, which is scheduled to come into service in 2030, be delayed? Will all the studies for this colossal public contract start from scratch or will the matter end up in court? A blunder by the Decoset joint union plunges those involved in this major issue for the metropolis into embarrassment. Revelations.
“Those who allow themselves to speak on this issue at dinners in town are liable to criminal prosecution,” says a Source at Decoset, angrily. The joint union in charge of waste management for more than a million inhabitants of Haute-Garonne is in turmoil; it did not respond in writing to our requests. It must be said that the file is extremely sensitive: the construction and management of a new waste treatment plant in Mirail and the management of its equivalent in Bessières, all for 1.4 billion euros over 20 years!
Mistake with serious consequences
According to several corroborating sources, as part of the recently ongoing call for tenders, a small hand may have sent (by mistake?) confidential documents to the wrong company. There are three competing to obtain this juicy public service delegation: Veolia, Suez and Paprec. The tender procedure has therefore been “suspended” confirms a Source at Decoset who wished to remain anonymous. According to our information, Paprec would have received the documents from Suez and would therefore be informed of all its secrets, making the competition null and void.
A battery of lawyers to avoid disaster
There has been uproar among the lawyers of the waste management giants in recent weeks. Unless an amicable agreement is reached, the hiccup could delay the project for the future Mirail incinerator. Very embarrassing given that the current factory, considered the most polluting in France, is generating many concerns among local residents.
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Doubly embarrassing when we know that a leak of confidential documents has already taken place in Ile-de-France, already to the detriment of Suez. The Ile-de-France Water Union (Sedif) suspended, on April 17, the call for tenders aimed at awarding a contract worth more than 4 billion. Veolia had access to confidential documents from its challenger Suez.
In Toulouse, Decoset would plead a regrettable error; “Is Paprec Veolia’s Trojan horse? If it still benefited Veolia, it would be suspicious since with each leak of documents in France, it benefits Veolia,” ventures a fine connoisseur of the file.
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Suez cheated but fair play?
Suez would therefore once again be the joke. Enough to raise suspicions about the nature of the Toulouse error, “the author of this unfortunate sending should not end his days in the sun” laughs the same Source. The only way out to avoid settling a serious dispute before administrative justice: for the three companies to agree on a final round of negotiations. Does the solution work?
Still according to our information, Suez could agree to calm things down as it does not wish to alienate the decision-makers of a community like Toulouse Métropole which has a pressing need for this factory. Vincent Terrail-Novès, president of Decoset is the mayor of Balma and the vice-president of Toulouse Métropole in charge of waste management: “We still hope to complete the public service delegation procedure in June, for the rest I Like all the candidates, I signed a confidentiality clause and I can’t say anything more,” he told us a few days ago. Same refrain from Pierre Trautmann, the “Mr. public markets” of Toulouse Métropole. On the side of Suez, Paprec or Veolia: no comments, “check with Decoset” we are advised.
The case is in any case being followed very closely in high places in Toulouse Métropole, which recently saw its local intercommunal urban planning plan (PLUIH) and its urban travel plan (PDU) canceled by the courts… A dispute of a billion and a half euros for the future incinerator would be a stain…
What is a call for tenders?
The tender procedure is very standardized. Each company must respond by respecting a double envelope system, in order to submit its application and its offer. The conditions for opening bids are very rigorous. According to our information, an addressing error embarrassed Decoset, and legal uncertainty now looms. Through this concession contract Decoset wants to entrust the operation and maintenance of “the energy recovery units of Bessières and Toulouse-Mirail.” The project involves continuing the “public service of waste treatment and recovery, by making improvements, particularly in terms of energy efficiency”. The project includes the complete reconstruction of the Toulouse-Mirail factory, with a capacity limited to 240,000 tonnes/year, in an urban area with an objective of commissioning in 2030. The delegatee will be responsible for the design, financing and the realization of this reconstruction.
