Largest waste-to-energy project 85% complete

DUBAI: Dubai Municipality on Monday announced that 85 per cent of Dubai Waste Management Centre (DWMC), the world’s largest waste-toenergy project, has been completed.

Construction of the landmark project began in 2021, in line with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to raise the emirate’s profile as a global model for sustainable development and consolidate its position as the best city to live and work in.

DWMC reflects Dubai’s commitment to achieving sustainable development goals and reducing the emirate’s carbon footprint. The project will contribute to Dubai Municipality’s strategic objective of reducing and completely diverting waste from landfills by 2030. Located in Dubai’s Al Warsan area, the first-of-its-kind project will convert 45 per cent of the emirate’s municipal waste into renewable energy once complete.

The construction of the waste management centre is on schedule. The first phase of the world’s most efficient energy project will be ready by 2023, while the entire project is scheduled to finish by 2024. With Dubai’s population expected to continue growing at an increasingly rapid pace thanks to a surge in economic activities, the project would significantly minimise the potential volume of municipal waste in landfills and create alternative energy sources. Dawoud Al Hajri, Director-general of Dubai Municipality, said the centre is a crucial pillar of Dubai’s ambition to transform into one of the world’s most sustainable cities.

The plant, he said, provides an innovative solution to transforming huge quantities of waste into a sustainable source of clean energy. Al Hajri pointed out that the centre reflects Dubai’s efforts to protect the environment by implementing state-of-the-art technologies.

He noted that DWMC will boost the emirate’s sustainability credentials, in line with national energy objectives and the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, launched by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid to make Dubai a global centre of clean energy and green economy.

“Dubai has always sought to be a pioneer in the field of waste-to-energy. By reducing the amount of solid waste and providing alternative sources for generating clean energy, the project will contribute to achieving a sustainable and eco-friendly model of waste management. With the world’s largest operational capacity, DWMC will process 1.9 million tonnes of waste annually and convert it into renewable energy, generating enough energy to power 135,000 homes,” Al Hajri said.