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Dubai Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum has inaugurated Dubai's AED4bn ($1.1bn) waste-to-energy (WTE) project in Dubai.  

Located in Warsan area, the plant will treat 1.9 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually. It is expected to generate up to 200MW of thermal energy that will be fed into the local grid.

In February this year, state utility Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) and Dubai Waste Management Company (DWMC) signed the power-purchase agreement for the project.

The 35-year agreement covers jointly selling the electricity produced from the plant, which will be distributed through the 132-kilovolt substation in Warsan. 

DWMC is the special project vehicle implementing the Warsan waste-to-energy scheme. It comprises: 

• Besix (Belgium)
• Tech Group (UAE)
• Hitachi Zosen Inova (Switzerland)
• Itochu Corporation (Japan)
• Dubai Holding (UAE)
• Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (UAE)

DWMC reached financial close for the project, which will be implemented on a build, operate and transfer basis, in June 2021.

According to Dewa, the production unit of the project will be added to its list of the main production units, "in order to ensure maximum utilisation of its production capabilities that are always available to supply the electricity grid".

The agreement contributes to supporting the project and achieving the sustainability of the assets, as the generated energy will be used to operate the DWMC and the Warsan wastewater treatment plant, Dewa added.

In February last year, Dubai approved a AED74.5bn budget supporting its waste management strategy, spanning 2021-41.

The two-decade strategy promotes innovation in waste management, recycling and energy conservation.

The strategy envisages private-sector contributions to reach AED70.5bn, or about 95 per cent of the planned budget.

Photo/Video: Dubai Media Office