The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 73.39 million concessional loan and grant to the Government of the Maldives to develop a waste treatment facility using waste-to-energy (WTE) technology and disposal infrastructure for the Greater Male’ Region and neighboring outer islands.
The project will establish a WTE plant with a capacity of 500 tonnes per day (tpd) with 2 treatment lines of 250 tpd each, an 8-megawatt electricity surplus energy recovery facility, an air pollution control system, and a landfill for safe disposal of air pollution control residues and non-marketable incineration bottom ash. The WTE treatment process minimises land requirements for waste disposal and produces renewable energy addressing the critical land and electricity constraints of developing small island countries like Maldives.
Greater Malé and its neighboring 32 outer islands which host 86 tourist resorts suffer from severe environmental pollution and deteriorating livability due to inadequate collection and haphazard disposal of solid waste. Over 830 tpd of solid waste are generated in the area and dumped or burned at the 10-hectare dump site on Thilafushi. The dump site, which was established in 1992, has no pollution control measures. The site contaminates the surrounding environment and is a public health and environmental hazard threatening fisheries and tourism.
ADB Urban Development Specialist for South Asia Luca Di Mario stated the project will significantly improve solid waste management of Maldives through the provision of efficient and sustainable treatment and disposal infrastructure and the WTE facility will be a pivotal component of an integrated solid waste management system, which will improve public and environmental health, especially ocean health. He said all facilities will adopt disaster- and climate-resilient features to respond to future disaster and climate change threats, such as sea level rise.
The WTE plant will be implemented through a design-build-operate modality with the private sector, with a 15 years operation and maintenance period. The project will also strengthen the institutional capacity of the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to supervise WTE operations, enhance operation and maintenance cost recovery, and improve public awareness on sustainable waste management practices.
The total cost of the project is USD 151.13 million. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) plans to provide a USD 40 million loan as co-financing. The Japan Fund for the Joint Crediting Mechanism will provide a USD 10 million grant to finance expenditures related to WTE design and construction, contingencies, and consulting services for the certification of greenhouse gas emission reduction from the WTE plant.
ADB is providing a USD 500,000 grant for the institutional capacity strengthening of MOE and EPA. The government of the Maldives will contribute USD 27.74 million to the project.