Besix, a leading Belgian infrastructure group with a major regional presence, said work is in full swing at Dubai's waste-to-energy project site with the first structural steel elements being put in place of the plant's main building, with the help of a 500TE mobile crane.

 

On completion, the W-t-E plant, located at the former Warsan landfill site in Dubai, will process 1.9 million tonnes of municipal waste per year and produce approximately 200 MW of renewable electricity. 

 

An international consortium led by Besix is responsible for the design, construction, finance and operation of this giant facility, which is being built in a single phase. 

 

The project was designed in close collaboration with the Dubai Municipality and Hitachi Zosen Inova.

 

In total, the site will use up to 16 tower cranes, including some of the world’s largest ones in order to install the equipment inside the plant, said the Belgian infrastructure giant. 

 

The consortium of leading international companies will build and operate the AED4 billion ($1.1 billion) project under a 35-year concession period with Dubai Municipality. 

 

This landmark public-private partnership represents one of the most significant renewable energy investments in the UAE.

 

Once operational, the facility will have the capacity to process up to 45% of Dubai’s current municipal waste generation, in turn significantly minimising the volume of municipal waste in landfills.

 

Earlier, TradeArabia had reported that Dubai Waste Management Company (DWMC) secured a project finance worth $900 million from major institutional lenders including Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for the W-t-E plant.

 

DWMC is a special purpose development vehicle set up by Besix, Tech Group, Hitachi Zosen Inova, Itochu Corporation, Dubal Holding and Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group for this project.

 

The other private global financial institutions involved in the funding are Société Générale Bank, KfW Ipex Bank, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Siemens Bank and Crédit Agricole Bank.

 

Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (Nexi) will provide the insurance for a part of the loan being provided by the financial institutions.