Hitachi Zosen Inova and its partner BESIX (Belgium) have passed another commissioning milestone on the Dubai Waste to Energy facility ‒ the world’s largest plant of its type ‒ which is currently under construction in the UAE for the City of Dubai. 

In 2020, joint venture partners Hitachi Zosen Inova and BESIX (Belgium), began construction on the world’s largest Waste to Energy plant. The project is being delivered on schedule and reached a further project key milestone on 11 July 2023 with the first electricity transmission to the UAE’s national power grid.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) and its joint venture partner BESIX (Belgium) have successfully delivered a further milestone for the Dubai Waste to Energy.  As the facility’s commissioning programme advances, HZI’s specialist engineers have successfully overseen the first electricity transmission to the UAE’s national power grid.

When fully operational in July 2024, this iconic facility will accelerate the City of Dubai’s move away from landfill dependency. Instead, the new plant will use non-recyclable waste as a valuable resource to power around 135,000 homes across Dubai and the Emirates.

The joint venture partners have combined their considerable experience and deep understanding of complex infrastructure projects to bring this scheme through construction and into its commissioning phase. HZI has been widely recognised as the leading global Engineering, Procurement and Construction partner for waste management infrastructure over many decades. With BESIX’s extensive experience and expertise in multifaceted infrastructure projects, the onsite works are progressing as planned.

Currently, with over 2,200 construction workers onsite, hot commissioning is proceeding on two of the facility’s five combustion lines which are transmitting electricity to the grid. This will be followed by the three remaining lines in due course. Deliveries of more than 2,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste are currently arriving each day. On 20 June, the project teams were honoured to host H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, who officially inaugurated the Dubai Waste to Energy facility.  Once fully operational, the new plant will treat over 1.9 million tonnes of waste, significantly reducing the UAE’s landfill dependence and helping Dubai achieve its goal of 75% landfill diversion by 2025.

“To send the first electricity to the UAE’s national grid is a huge achievement for HZI and BESIX. We’re incredibly proud to be safely and efficiently moving through each commissioning milestone. To add power to Dubai’s grid is a key moment for the City of Dubai and our onsite teams,” said Roni Araiji, HZI’s Managing Director Middle East. “Next year, this plant will deliver reliable baseload energy that will power around 135,000 homes, and, importantly, it will also help Dubai and the UAE to meet their environmental and landfill diversion goals.”

“We take immense pride in our partnership with Hitachi Zosen Inova and the successful achievement of another significant milestone for the Dubai Waste-to-Energy project. This remarkable endeavour is a testament to our combined expertise and unwavering commitment to driving the transition towards a circular economy and reducing landfill dependency,” said Benoit Vadani, BESIX’’s Vice-President, Director Development. “Together with Hitachi Zosen Inova, we are dedicated to delivering innovative solutions that align with Dubai and the UAE’’s ambitious goals for sustainable development.”

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