H.E Abdel Rahim Al Hammadi Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water, recently met H.E. Nasser Saeed Al Tallai, Director of the Emiri Diwan in Umm Al Quwain, in his office at the Ministry’s Headquarter in Dubai to review bilateral relations between the two parties. During the meeting, they also discussed areas of cooperation and ways to enhance then while addressing issues of common concern, especially in the field of wastewater treatment in the Northern Emirates.

The two parties discussed recent developments on the Northern Emirates’ waste-to-energy (WtE) project which will treat waste and convert it into energy. H.E. Al Hammadi elaborated that the project is nearing the first phase of completion, with the project studies almost done. After this, the Ministry’s working group and consultant-in-charge will review the results of the studies and field research on the quantity and quality of waste and their sources as well as current disposal methods. In addition, they will evaluate the candidate site for the project in coordination with the four emirates – Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah.

 H.E. Al Hammadi added that the project will contribute to the sustainable disposal of waste which has created health, hygiene and sustainability issues for a long time because the current traditional methods are not as effective as desired and not eco-friendly. Moreover, they do not serve the integrated national framework for waste management, which the Ministry is seeking to implement countrywide to help achieve the objectives of UAE Vision 2021. He emphasized that the project has received favourable response and significant cooperation from all four emirates along with direct support from the Follow-Up Committee of the Initiatives of the UAE President taking care of the huge budget for its implementation in order to solve a major waste management issue.

H.E. Al Tallai praised the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water’s efforts to maintain and protect the environment from damages and risks and its continuous quest to find environmentally friendly solutions. He stated that Umm Al Quwain is contributing to the project by simplifying matters related to studies and facilitating the work of field teams to accelerate the pace of implementation. Further, H.E. Al Tallai noted that some locations in the emirate that are suffering primarily from waste problems, resulting odours, and continuous emissions were nominated to study the project. He also cited occasional landfill fires and the consequent costs and efforts to deal with their effects as additional reasons for finding a sustainable solution to waste management.

 The Northern Emirates project to address waste and turn it into energy has come a long way from its early stages and has been tendered for implementation before eligible national and international companies. The work will begin after the bidding process, most probably by the second half of 2016, with qualified companies to receive special offers. Once complete and fully operational, the project will be a quantum leap in the concept of sustainable waste treatment and use of green alternative energy, benefitting several segments of society.