Financing secured for Sharjah Multi-Fuel Waste-to-Energy

Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar, and Bee’ah, the UAE’s leading environmental management company, have secured financing commitments for the Sharjah Multi-Fuel Waste-to-Energy Facility, the flagship project of Emirates Waste to Energy, a joint venture between the two companies launched in May 2017.

The waste-to-energy (WTE) project is the first of its kind in the UAE, and has received financing commitments from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), Siemens Financial Services, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).

Signing financing documents today were Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer, Masdar; Khaled Al Huraimel, Group Chief Executive Officer, Bee’ah; Khalifa Al Qubaisi, Deputy Director General, ADFD; Mazen Zo’mot, Head, Wholesale Banking (Abu Dhabi & Al Ain), ADCB; Roland Chalons-Browne, Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Financial Services; and Masatoshi Takesako, Regional Head, Middle East, SMBC.

Also announced today was the finalisation of the design, build and operate (DBO) agreement for this project with Constructions Industrielles de la Méditerranée (CNIM), a French engineering company who specializes in waste-to-energy.

The waste supply agreement (WSA) and power purchasing agreement (PPA) for the plant were signed with Sharjah Water and Electricity Authority last year in the presence of HE Dr: Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment.

Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Chief Executive Officer of Masdar, said, "Viewing waste as a material resource that can be harnessed for power is the type of innovative thinking needed to deliver on the UAE’s sustainability agenda. Today’s signing of financial documents is a key step in the realisation of the UAE’s first waste-to-energy plant and paves the way for the commercialisation of other waste-to-energy projects.

Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO of Bee’ah, said, "Deriving energy from waste will pave a new path towards the UAE’s ambition of a sustainable future, by supplying the nation with clean energy and achieving the target of zero waste diversion in Sharjah. The new waste-to-energy facility is an iconic project as it is the first of its kind in the UAE. Through our contract with CNIM, we will be able to utilise the expertise of an industry leader in exploring the full potential of this facility, and in setting an example that can be replicated across other projects by the Emirates Waste to Energy Company".

The Sharjah Multi-Fuel Waste-to-Energy Facility is due for completion by 2020, helping to achieve the UAE’s aim of diverting 75 percent of its municipal solid waste from landfill by 2021 and Sharjah’s 2020 zero-waste-to-landfill target.

Within its first phase, the plant will treat more than 300,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW) each year, or 37.5 tonnes of solid waste per hour. It will also have the capacity to generate approximately 30 megawatts (MW) of energy.

The new plant has also been designed to meet the strictest environmental standards, complying with the European Union’s Best Available Techniques, widely recognised as the global standard.

Today’s signing ceremony took place during the Waste Management Solutions Forum at the EcoWaste Exhibition, a leading international platform for advancing sustainable waste management and recycling, and a key component of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.