Dubai Municipality is considering switching the procurement of its Warsan waste-to-energy project (WTE) project to a public-private partnership (PPP), rather than the originally planned engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) model.

MEED first reported in March that the municipality was considering adopting the PPP model for the scheme. In April, the project owner prequalified contractors and met with potential bidders on 31 May to build the plant under an EPC contract.

However, according to sources close to the scheme, the municipality is considering reopening the prequalification process to prequalify developers and develop the project under a PPP model.

MEED reported in December last year that Germany’s Fichtner had been appointed as technical adviser for the WTE project.

The first phase is planned to have a minimum capacity of 2,000 tonnes a day (t/d). 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, in both of which there is 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.