Abu Dhabi awards contract for first waste-to-energy facility

Alec

A joint venture between Dubai’s Alec Engineering and Contracting (Alec) and Lebanon’s Butec has won a contract to design and build Abu Dhabi’s first waste-to-energy plant.

The joint venture will collaborate with Hitachi Zosen Innova, a Swiss-based cleantech company, on the project, Alec said in a statement.

Located near the Al-Dhafra landfill, the facility – developed by state-owned Emirates Water and Electricity Company (Ewec) and Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company (Tadweer) – will process 900,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste annually over the next 30 years.

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The project aims to prevent the release of over 1 million tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions annually. Furthermore, the plant will add 80 megawatts of power generation capacity from a non-fossil fuel source.

The Alec-Butec venture will oversee the engineering, procurement and construction of all non-process-related activities, including civil engineering, concrete and structural steel work, installation of mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems and building services.

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Additionally, it will manage external works and site infrastructure development.

No financial and construction timeline details were given.

The waste-to-energy project has a target commercial operation date of the fourth quarter 2026, the UAE state-backed Wam news agency reported in March 2023.

Alec is owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, while Butec is partially owned by the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group.