Work is set due to get under way on a new £340 million combined heat and power plant in Kent that will convert household waste into electricity and steam.

Wheelabrator Technologies, the developer of the project, has now secured an agreement with all parties and construction is set to begin later in the month.

Clugston will work as the civil contractor for the Kemsley plant, with CNIM as the principal contractor and Arup as the lead building designer. Arup will provide geotechnical, structural and civil engineering, along with reviewing mechanical, electrical and plumbing building services.

The new facility will divert 550,000t of waster from Kent to the South East of England each year. This waste would otherwise have been exported to Europe for treatment or sent to landfill sites.

The site has been designed to provide steam for a peppermill nearby and will generate 43MW of electricity when it is at full capacity.

Ben Glover, Arup Associate Director and Energy Water Buildings Business Leader, commented: “As an industry we are increasingly acknowledging how valuable waste is as a resource for generating energy, but also the treatment of waste through an Energy from Waste plant reduces greenhouse gas emissions.”

Glover added that the new facility is a prime example of how high quality engineering can produce benefits for both the environment and the economy.

The Wheelabrator Kemsley facility is due to start operations in 2019.

Meanwhile, last month Arup announced that it will work on the 21 storey resi tower made of wood, which will be the highest wooden residential building in the world.

Arup will provide multi-disciplinary engineering services, including building services engineering, fire, acoustics and building physics consulting for the 73 metre tall HAUT tower which is to be built in Amsterdam.

Construction of the tower is due to get underway early next year.