John Laing Group plc admitted in early December 2016 that the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority was 'not satisfied' with the £3.7bn Manchester Waste PFI project. An earlier press report had claimed the project "…heads for scrapheap" (The Times, 13 November, 2016). Laing is a joint partner with Viridor Waste Ltd (Pennon Group plc). Costain expects to complete construction in early 2017, but incurred significant losses since the contract was signed in 2007. Costain's results for the half-year ending 30 June 2016 stated "…further costs and provisions totalling £11.4 million in relation to the completion" and "remains in discussions with relevant contract counterparties and the Group's insurers regarding the issues that have arisen on this contract". The nine Greater Manchester local authorities are seeking substantial savings in the project.
"The Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority ("GMWDA") has indicated that it is not satisfied with the current status of the VL Co project and it continues to seek significant cost savings and efficiencies. The process by which these issues will be resolved is currently unclear to the project company, which continues to work with GMWDA to explore options" (John Laing Group plc, Pre-Close Update, 9 December 2016).
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