Finnish group Griffin to start work on UAE waste fuel plant


Finland-based Griffin Refineries said it is set to start work on the UAE's first state-of-the-art waste fuel plant, Emirates RDF, located in the the northern emirate of Umm Al Quwain following the financial close of the project.

Finland-based Griffin Refineries said it is set to start work on the UAE's first state-of-the-art waste fuel plant, Emirates RDF, located in the the northern emirate of Umm Al Quwain following the financial close of the project.

Emirates RDF is a joint-venture between UAE-based contractors Besix and TG Eco holding together with Griffin Refineries.

The project is a public-private-partnership being set up on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model with a 15-year post-construction operational phase, said the statement from Finnish group.

Once the plant gets operational in September next year, it will receive 1,000 tonne of municipal waste per day from approximately 550,000 residents living in the emirates of Umm Al Quwain and Ajman.

The waste will then 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 per cent of household waste from landfill, it added.

Nico de Koning, the project manager of Besix Concessions and 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 strategic objective of landfill diversion of least 75 per cent by 2021 and it helps cement plants in decreasing their use of fossil fuels," he added.-TradeArabia News Service