DUBAL Holding and Dubai Holding in partnership with an international consortium of investors have announced the achievement of financial close of an AED 4 billion agreement signed last year with Dubai Municipality to build one of the world’s largest energy-from-waste (EfW) projects in the Emirate, currently under development.
The landmark public-private partnership entered into a project finance loan agreement on 28 March 2021 for a total amount of around 900 million USD with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and private financial institutions including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Société Générale, KfW IPEX Bank GmbH, Standard Chartered Bank, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, and Siemens Bank GmbH. Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) is providing the insurance for a part of the loan by the private financial institutions.
Dubai Centre for Waste Processing comes to fruition with the establishment of Dubai Waste Management Company (DWMC), formed by UAE-based holding companies, DUBAL Holding as well as Dubai Holding in addition to international investment companies ITOCHU Corporation, Hitachi Zosen Inova, BESIX Group and Tech Group.
Ahmad Hamad Bin Fahad, the Acting CEO of DUBAL Holding, commented: “Financial closure is an extremely important project milestone; I attribute this achievement to the untiring efforts of DWMC management and all the individual Sponsor team members who worked hand in hand with the financial institutions and other stakeholders over the past three months since project finance loan agreement was signed during late March 2021. With this project, Dubai would be able to divert municipal solid waste away from the landfills into an opportunity to generate electricity through a commercially viable business model.”
On this occasion, Khalid Al Malik, Managing Director of Dubai Holding, said: “We are extremely proud to reach financial close for this landmark project, which will offer a new source of sustainable energy supply in the Emirate, and it further cements Dubai Holding’s commitment to investing in leading sustainable infrastructure across Dubai as part of our efforts to contributing to the Emirate’s growth and diversification strategy.”
“This project is a true testament to the trust and confidence that international investors and financial institutions continue to place in Dubai. With many more milestones ahead, we look forward to the significant impact the Dubai Centre of Waste Processing will have on Dubai,” he added.
Set to be one of the largest in the world, the Dubai Centre for Waste Processing in the Warsan area will upon completion have the capacity to treat up to 1.9 million tonnes of solid waste or 45 per cent of Dubai’s current municipal waste generation, and significantly reduce the volume of municipal waste in landfills.
Foundational works on the project, which will operate under a 35-year concession, started last year and are proceeding at pace. The facility’s thermal transfer efficiency is expected to be 34 per cent, which will be among the highest in the world.
