Dubai Waste Management Company (DWMC) said it has secured project finance worth $900 million from major institutional lenders including Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for a major waste-to-energy plant (WtE), located at the former Warsan landfill site in Dubai.

The other private global financial institutions involved in the funding are Société Générale Bank, KfW Ipex Bank, Standard Chartered, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Siemens Bank and Crédit Agricole Bank.

Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (Nexi) will provide the insurance for a part of the loan.

DWMC had been set up as a special purpose development vehicle by global infrastructure major Besix, Tech Group, Hitachi Zosen Inova, Itochu Corporation, Dubal Holding and Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group for this project.

The Dubai Centre for Waste Processing in the Warsan area aims to treat 5,666 tonnes of municipal solid waste produced by Dubai per day. A total of 1.9 million tonnes of waste per year will be converted into renewable energy.

A Dubai Municipality project, its size and capacity make this facility one of the largest in the world. Up to 200 MW of thermal energy recovered will be fed into the local grid.

The facility will have the capacity to process up to 45 per cent of Dubai’s current municipal waste generation, in turn significantly minimising the volume of municipal waste in landfills.

An international consortium led by Besix is responsible for the design, construction, finance and operation of this giant waste-to-energy facility. The project was designed in close collaboration between Dubai Municipality, Hitachi Zosen Inova and Besix.

The consortium of leading international companies will build and operate the AED4 billion ($1.1 billion) project under a 35-year concession period with Dubai Municipality. This landmark public-private partnership represents one of the most significant renewable energy investments in the UAE.