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Averda to invest $15m to collect garbage in capital

ABU DHABI — The Center of Waste Management, which oversees the affairs of waste management in the capital, has recently awarded a five-year contract to a regional waste management firm Averda to carry-out a complete range of environmental services to the new real estate communities in the outskirts of the city.

The contract is line with Abu Dhabi’s efforts to involve the private sector in providing civic services including waste collection and treatment activities. A waste management tender was won by Averda allowing the firm to make forays into Abu Dhabi, to providing its services in the new real estate developments of Yas Island, Al Gurm Resort, Al Raha Beach and Al Raha Gardens.

The firm is involved in waste collection and treatment in Lebanon, Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arab, apart from projects in Dubai and Sharjah, Muscat, and Doha.

The emirate has set out its commitment to improving waste management, by seeking to reinforce its solid waste management policy in the coming years by developing the ways and means of implementing various internationally accepted principles, concepts, and instruments, such as waste generator pays (e.g. tariff), extended producer responsibility, greener public purchasing, and integrated product policy.

Abu Dhabi also seeks to promote sound methods for collection, transportation, treatment, and disposal, apart from moving in the direction of a waste management hierarchy that places a greater emphasis on waste Reduction, Re-Use, and Recycling.

Malek Sukkar, the chief executive officer Averda, told Khaleej Times in an interview on the sidelines of the World Future Energy Summit on Monday that his company has put in $15 million in capital expenditure to creating an infrastructure to collect garbage. Under the terms of the contract the waste management company will establish solid waste collection and transportation collection, cleaning and street sweeping services, along with pest control. However, these services are not limited.

He said that the company has participated in another tender closed week under the waste collected would be treated. Abu Dhabi will soon be recognised as a world leader in sustainable and integrated solid waste management, he said.

Sukkar said: “work on prestigious developments in the UAE will give us the chance to introduce some innovative collection and recycling services.”

The standards here are very challenging but that is the only way to achieve continuous improvement on all fronts, he said. — haseeb@khaleejtimes.com