Dubai Holding has announced a multi-partnership deal to develop one of the world’s largest energy-from-waste (EfW) facilities.

The consortium, which includes ITOCHU Corporation, Hitachi Zosen Inova, BESIX Group and Tech Group, will build and operate the AED4 billion ($1.1bn) project under a 35-year concession period with Dubai Municipality.

Located in the Warsan area, the Dubai Centre for Waste Processing will treat 5,666 tonnes of municipal solid waste produced by the emirate per day. A total of 1,900,000 tonnes of waste per year will be converted into renewable energy.

The approximate 200MW of electricity generated will be fed into the local grid as clean energy. While the facility will have the capacity to process up to 45 percent of Dubai’s current municipal waste generation, in turn significantly minimising the volume of municipal waste in landfills.

Khalid Al Malik, managing director of Dubai Holding, said: “This significant investment by the group of companies that form this consortium, based on an agreement with Dubai Municipality, highlights international confidence in our market and Dubai’s continued appeal in attracting foreign direct investment, despite a more challenging global economic climate.”

Construction of the project is being carried out by BESIX Middle East and Hitachi Zosen Innova. At the peak of the works, 2,500 people will be deployed, and the site will use up to 16 tower cranes, including the largest tower cranes in the world for the installation of equipment inside the plant.

Ahmad Hamad Bin Fahad, acting CEO of Dubal Holding, added: “Investment in green and sustainable projects is always close to our heart and we are very pleased to work with a broad spectrum of people working towards the realisation of one of the world’s largest single-site waste to energy projects in Dubai.”

The project finance loan agreements, amounting to $900 million, have been finalised with Japan Bank for International Cooperation and financial institutions including Société Générale Bank, KfW IPEX Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Siemens Bank and Crédit Agricole Bank. Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) will provide the insurance for a part of the loan being provided by the financial institutions.