Emirates RDF starts operations in September 2020
Emirates RDF is pleased to announce that it has reached financial close for the Refuse Derived Fuel Facility in the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain. Emirates RDF is a joint venture consisting of U.A.E. based contractors BESIX and TG ECO holding together with Finland based Griffin Refineries. The project is a Public-Private-Partnership implementing a Build – Operate – Transfer (BOT) scheme with a 15 year post-construction operational phase. The project is part of the initiatives of His Highness the U.A.E. President and is followed up by The President’s Initiatives Committee (Ministry of Presidential Affairs).
The construction will start in May 2019. As from September 2020 the facility will receive 1,000 tons of municipal waste per day from approximately 550,000 residents living in the Emirates of Umm Al Quwain and Ajman. The waste will be converted into an alternative energy source called Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF), which will be used as a fuel in cement factories instead of coal. It simultaneously results in a diversion of at least 90% of household waste from landfill.
Nico de Koning, Project Manager of BESIX Concessions & Assets Middle East and General Manager of Emirates RDF: "We are happy to be able to develop this strategic project for waste management in the Northern Emirates. Emirates RDF contributes to the UAE's strategic objective of landfill diversion of at least 75% by 2021 and it helps cement plants in decreasing their use of fossil fuels. The milestone reached wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for the true partnership and professionalism that we experienced in working with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the Ministry of Presidential Affairs, the Umm Al Quwain Public Works and Services Department and the Ajman Municipality."