Seoul bags lucrative waste unit contract in Mexico

Korea has won a $600 million order to build a waste-fired cogeneration plant in western Mexico, officials said yesterday.

The contract was signed Saturday in Seoul between Korea Environment Corporation, a state-run company in charge of eco-friendly energy projects, and the Jalisco state government of Mexico, officials from the Ministry of Environment said.

The contract calls for Korea Environment Corporation to complete building the plant in Jalisco by 2022. Cogeneration refers to the simultane-ous production of electricity and heat.

The plant is expected to help Jalisco dispose of its waste efficiently and meet a rising demand for electricity, the ministry said.

Lee Chan-hee, a senior ministry official, said the contract is significant in the wake of the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations be-tween Korea and Mexico.

With the contract, the ministry will also help Korean companies make in-roads into the renewable energy sector in Mexico, Lee said. Yonhap