The first structural steel elements for Dubai’s new waste-to-energy plant (WtE) are being put in place  with the help of a 500TE mobile crane, according to its contractor Besix, a leading Belgian infrastructure group.

On completion, the WtE plant, located at the former Warsan landfill site in Dubai, will process 1.9 million tonnes of municipal waste per year and produce approximately 200 MW of renewable electricity.

An international consortium led by Besix is responsible for the design, construction, finance and operation of this giant facility, which is being built in a single phase. The project was designed in close collaboration with the Dubai Municipality and Hitachi Zosen Inova.

In total, the site will use up to 16 tower cranes, including some of the world’s largest ones in order to install the equipment inside the plant, says 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.

Once operational, 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.

Earlier, Dubai Waste Management Company (DWMC) secured a project finance worth $900 million from major institutional lenders including Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) for the WtE plant.

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