A ceremony to sign and lay the cornerstone for the Thermal Waste Treatment Installation (ITPO) in Suwałki has taken place. The total cost of the project is 220.1 million PLN gross, with support from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) amounting to 178.9 million PLN.
The facility, being built for the Municipal Waste Management Company (PGO) in Suwałki, will process up to 19,500 tonnes of waste per year. It will generate heat and electricity through high-efficiency cogeneration, with a total capacity of around 7 MW. The heat will be fed into the municipal district heating network, reducing coal consumption.
Financial backing and key partners
The investment is a financial mix of grants and loans from NFOŚiGW. The project received a grant of over 64 million PLN from the Modernisation Fund, supplemented by a loan of 115 million PLN – a total of 178.9 million PLN from the fund. The general contractor is Instal Warszawa, while the boiler supplier is the French group Leroux & Lotz Technologies.
– The new installation will stabilise waste management costs for residents and provide an additional, ecological source of heat for the municipal heating system – said Czesław Renkiewicz, mayor of Suwałki. The city authorities consider this the largest and one of the most important infrastructure investments in Suwałki’s history.
Technology and environmental impact
The ITPO will process alternative fuels (preRDF/RDF), including sorting residues and the energy fraction of unsorted municipal waste. In the process of high-efficiency cogeneration, both electricity and heat will be produced. The heat will supply the city’s heating network, reducing coal use, while the electricity will partly cover the installation’s own needs and those of local municipal companies.
– Thermal waste treatment installations are an important element of the circular economy – they allow the use of non-recyclable fractions and simultaneously strengthen local energy and heating systems. The Suwałki project fits these goals and is an example of effective use of public funds – emphasised Paweł Augustyn, deputy president of NFOŚiGW.
Construction progress and schedule
Work was halted for two months due to severe frosts and snowfall – from 27 December 2025 to 2 March 2026. The contractor is now catching up with extended working hours, and the schedule is not at risk. The walls of the first and second floors have been erected, and the ceiling above the first floor has been poured. Currently, workers are reinforcing and shuttering the ceiling above the second floor, with work expected to last until mid-July, after which the third floor and roof will be built.
The construction of the waste bunker and other parts (reception hall, machine room) has reached ground level. The first stage of the main structure assembly has been completed. Work is now underway on the bunker walls up to level +8.0 and installation of the flue gas treatment system. Components of the boiler unit and flue gas treatment installation have already arrived on site. Assembly of the boiler steel structure will start in June.
The project is being carried out by Przedsiębiorstwo Gospodarki Odpadami in Suwałki, a municipal company. The investment is located on land owned by the municipality. Completion is planned for 27 April 2027.
Źródło: wnp.pl, Fot. UM Suwałki
