Construction starts this month on the Emirates refuse-derived fuel (RDF) facility, which is being built in Umm Al Quwain, UAE. The project is a joint venture consisting of UAE based contractors Besix and TG Eco Holding together with Finland-based Griffin Refineries.

From September 2020 the facility will receive 1000t of municipal waste per day from approximately 550,000 residents living in the Emirates of Umm Al Quwain and Ajman. The waste will be converted into RDF. It will be used as a fuel in cement factories instead of coal and will simultaneously result in a diversion of at least 90 per cent of household waste from landfill.

Nico de Koning, project manager of Besix Concessions & Assets Middle East and general manager of Emirates RDF, said: "Emirates RDF contributes to the UAE's strategic objective of landfill diversion of at least 75 per cent by 2021 and it helps cement plants in decreasing their use of fossil fuels."

The build-operate-transfer scheme includes a 15-year post-construction operational phase.