An assessment for a complete overhaul of the Tynes Bay Incinerator is under review, with MPs hearing that the ageing facility faces a “very real” risk of catastrophic failure.

Lieutenant-Colonel David Burch, the Minister of Public Works, updated the House of Assembly, saying that delays to revamps caused by impediments to the global supply chain had pushed the facility on North Shore, Devonshire, close to the brink.

Colonel Burch addressed the issue in 2022, when he outlined the estimated $22 million project.

He told the House yesterday that new cranes would be installed next month to start operating in October, while new distribution transformers were to be installed by the end of September.

Equipment for the plant’s primary steam turbine, used to generate power from burning waste, was also in need of “a major overhaul”, with a November start expected for the project.

Tynes Bay is additionally in need of new screens for its seawater coolant system.

Decisions based on the KPMG study of the incinerator’s overall redevelopment will be shared with the House after a Cabinet review.

Colonel Burch added: “I again want to stress in the strongest possible terms that the risk of a catastrophic failure is very real.

“The plant has a number of issues that threaten its functionality.”

Noting the facility’s breakdown in December 2021, when its boilers failed, Colonel Burch said: “Back in 2021, we were on the edge of going over a cliff, but the stabilisation works have prevented that from happening.

“The full refurbishment works must now proceed apace so that the country is never on that cliff edge again.

“All the plans are in place to move forward, and this will mean that the work must continue and the necessary funding, over several years, must be provided.”