Dubai Municipality has awarded a contract to a consortium led by Belgium’s Besix and Switzerland’s Hitachi Zosen Innova to develop Dubai’s first waste-to-energy power project under a build, operate and transfer (BOT) model.

The consortium has been awarded the contract to build the plant under a 30-year BOT contract, with the project expected to require $680m-plus of investment.

The procurement model for the emirate’s first waste-to-energy project had been uncertain, with the client having originally received engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) proposals for the scheme.

Dubai Municipality received seven bids for the EPC contract for the waste-to-energy project in early 2017, which was followed by three bidders submitting fresh EPC prices in September. MEED reported in October that the Municipality had requested BOT submissions from the three remaining bidders. The Besix/Hitachi consortium saw off competition from Spain’s Abengoa/Elecnor and China’s Sepco 3 to win the Bot deal.

The waste-to-energy project is planned to have a minimum capacity of 2,000 tonnes a day (t/d) and produce up to 171MW of electricity. The plant will be located at the waste landfill site in Warsan.

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.