Kochi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday performed the groundbreaking ceremony of the compressed biogas (CBG) plant being built at Brahmapuram by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) as part of the measures to resolve Kochi’s waste management woes.

The prime minister performed the ceremony online as he participated in the Swachh Bharat Diwas 2024 programme in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, commemorating the 155th Gandhi Jayanti and ten years of the Swachh Bharat Mission.

During the event, the prime minister launched and laid the foundation stone for several sanitation and cleanliness projects nationwide. The CBG plant at Brahmapuram is being constructed on a 10-acre land provided by Kochi Municipal Corporation and the Government of Kerala. The initiative aims to mitigate pollution and frequent fires at the Brahmapuram dumping yard. The plant will process 150 MT of organic waste daily, supplied by Kochi Municipal Corporation, and produce compressed biogas.

CEID Consultants and Engineering Pvt Ltd has been awarded the contract for setting up the plant, with FEDO as the project management consultant.

Bharat Petroleum is the second largest Indian oil marketing company and one of the integrated energy companies in India, engaged in refining of crude oil and marketing of petroleum products, with a presence in the upstream and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry.

The BPCL proposed the biogas plant in Kochi, as part of the Centre’s waste-to-energy initiative, in May 2023 following the days-long fire at the Brahmapuram dumping yard, which exposed the failure of the city’s waste managing system.

Industries Minister P Rajeeve, Kochi Mayor M Anil Kumar, District Collector N S K Umesh IAS and BPCL Kochi Refinery Executive Director Sankar M were among those who attended the event at Brahmapuram on Wednesday.