BESIX confirms its role as a long-term industrial partner of GCC countries for the implementation of their strategic infrastructure and national strategies. Achievement of Financial Close of the Dubai Waste-to-Energy project on 21 June 2021, a 1.2 billion dollar development, is a further demonstration of this.
Olivier Crasson, General Manager of BESIX in the Middle East: "BESIX helps states to convert their visions and opportunities into concrete industrial partnerships. Dubai Waste-to-Energy is an example of which we are very proud: together with Dubai Municipality, Hitachi Zosen Inova and our valuable co-investors, we have conceived and engineered one of the most ambitious environmental projects in the Middle East and made it a reality. We designed it, today we are building it, and tomorrow we will operate and maintain it for 35 years. The Financial Close, for which on behalf of BESIX, I would like to thank all the partners, is a proof of the quality of this project and of our ability to accompany the public authorities as a long-term, reliable and solution-oriented partner.”
The plant, one of the largest in the world, was procured by Dubai Municipality. The equity investor consortium comprises leading private and public operators from the Middle East, Asia and Europe: Dubai Holding, DUBAL Holding, ITOCHU, HZI, BESIX and Tech Group.
The debt provider group comprises Japanese export credit agency Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) alongside international lenders Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, KFW IPEX-Bank GmbH, Mizuho Bank, Ltd, Siemens Bank GmbH, Société Générale, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Japanese export credit agency Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) provided loan insurance.
Pierre Sironval, Deputy CEO of BESIX Group: "For several years now, BESIX has been consolidating its position as a leading player in the implementation of large and ambitious public-private partnerships, mainly for environmental and infrastructure projects. We continue to strengthen our position in this field year after year, convinced that the collaboration we offer to governments is a first choice solution for the efficient and rapid implementation of their national strategies. We are doing this in the Middle East and Western Europe, and are now considering expanding to other regions of the world. Our strength is our ability to support public authorities at every stage of their projects, including our in-house design office for design, our contracting capabilities for construction, our financing solutions, and finally, our experts in asset management and infrastructure operations and maintenance over several decades."
The Dubai Waste-to-Energy project adds to BESIX's rapidly growing portfolio of public-private partnerships in the Middle East. This includes infrastructure for wastewater management, treatment and valorisation, notably in Ajman via Ajman Sewerage and in Abu Dhabi with the ISTP2 venture. In addition to these projects, BESIX is actively involved in the region's first Refuse Derived Fuel installation in Umm Al Quwain, a sewage sludge treatment unit for the production of sustainable energy in Ajman and a unit for the transformation of landfill gas into sustainable energy in Dubai.
