The UAE's Ministry of Climate Change and Environment is seeking bidders to develop a waste management project in the Northern Emirates.

The ministry has already launched the feasibility study for Ajman, Fujairah, Umm Al Qaiwain and Ras Al Khaimah waste management projects and it is now seeking a project manager under a 2-year agreement to advice in the procurement process involving new facilities which will be developed by private consortium. Bids must be submitted by June 30.

The Umm Al Qaiwain project involves a major new facility with the capacity of processing from 1000 to 1500 tones of waste per day. It will consist of a recycling facility, a composting site and a residue-derived fuel facility that converts non-recyclable waste into fuel, which will be used to power a waste-to-energy plant developed under the second phase of the project. Further construction of other waste management facilities depend on the outcome of these projects.

Oliver Crasson, the executive vice-president for business development at construction company Besix, said:

“Because there is an asset and a process – something is going in, something is going out," he explained. “There is an economic reasoning behind it."

Ian Tempest, director of project management company Faithful + Gould, noted:

“In terms of the public sector’s point of view, the important thing is that they get the opportunity of being very prescriptive about what they want their service to be, and then for the private sector to come up with innovative solutions."

“The important thing is that during that bidding stage, the private sector has the opportunity of taking the long-term view, engaging with a facilities management company and other operators, so that they are designing from the outset a quality of product that will last the duration [of the concession period]."