(Updated on 2 March 2024 with project's concept photo, concession agreement details and power generation capacity)

Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) and Tadweer Group have signed a concession agreement with a Japan-based consortium comprised of Marubeni Corporation, Hitachi Zosen Inova AG (HZI), and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development (JOIN) for the development of a Waste-to-Energy (WtE) in Abu Dhabi under the Independent Power Project (IPP) model.

The project will have an expected annual processing capacity of 900,000 tonnes of waste, EWEC said in a press statement issued on Thursday.

The concession agreement was signed at the Abu Dhabi Energy Centre by Othman Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of EWEC, Ali Al Dhaheri, Chief Executive Officer of Tadweer Group, and Roni Araiji, consortium representative and Managing Director Middle East of Hitachi Zosen Inova Ltd, the statement noted.

Representatives from the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy were present.

The EWEC press statement didn't reveal the concession period or operational timelines but Marubeni, in a press statement dated 29 March 2024, said the concession period is 30 years with commercial operations scheduled to start in 2027. The statement also added the project will have annual power generation capacity of 80 megawatts (MW).  

Rendering of the Abu Dhabi Waste-to-Energy Project. A consortium of Marubeni, Hitachi Zosen Inova and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development (JOIN) concluded a concession agreement with EWEC and Tadweer Group.
Rendering of the Abu Dhabi Waste-to-Energy Project. A consortium of Marubeni, Hitachi Zosen Inova and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development (JOIN) concluded a concession agreement with EWEC and Tadweer Group.
Rendering of the Abu Dhabi Waste-to-Energy Project. A consortium of Marubeni, Hitachi Zosen Inova and Japan Overseas Infrastructure Investment Corporation for Transport & Urban Development (JOIN) concluded a concession agreement with EWEC and Tadweer Group.

UAE-based project data platform MEED had reported on Wednesday that the winning consortium proposed a levelised waste treatment cost of 175 UAE dirhams ($47.6) a metric tonne (MT) for the project.

EWEC had received proposals from two consortia for the development of the greenfield WtE IPP.

Abu Dhabi has set a target of diverting 80 per cent of the emirate’s waste from landfills by 2030.

Read more: Sharjah Waste-to-Energy plant: A leading model

Dubai’s waste-to-energy mega project expected to commence full operations in Q1 2024

(Writing by Sowmya Sundar; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

Subscribe to our Projects' PULSE newsletter that brings you trustworthy news, updates and insights on project activities, developments, and partnerships across sectors in the Middle East and Africa.