China’s Sepco 3 has submitted the lowest bid of AED1.18bn ($322m) for the contract to build the planned waste-to-energy project at Warsan.

Sepco’s 3 bid was 8 per cent lower than the $350m bid submitted by Spain’s Abengoa, the second lowest bidder. Japan’s Hitachi Zosen submitted the third lowest price of $363m.

The full list of bidders and offers is:

According to sources close to the scheme, the technical offers are currently under evaluation, which may modify the final ranking.

The waste-to-energy project is planned to have a minimum capacity of 2,000 tonnes a-day (t/d) and produce 60MW. The plant will be located at the waste landfill site in Warsan.

According to sources close to the scheme, the client had considered using a build-own-transfer (BOT) public-private partnership (PPP) model to develop the plant, but has decided to tender the scheme using an EPC model with an additional five years of operation and maintenance (O&M).

Germany’s Fichtner is the technical adviser for the WTE project.

The project is in line with Dubai’s Strategic Plan 2021 and the Dubai Integrated Energy Strategy 2030, both of which include a commitment to protect the environment and improve sustainability in the energy sectors. Dubai Municipality estimates the quantity of municipal solid wastes generated in the emirate in 2014 was 7,000 t/d.