Sadara Chemical Company, a joint venture between state oil giant Saudi Aramco and The Dow Chemical Company, said it has signed an agreement with Veolia Middle East, a Paris-based group and world leader in resource management and recovery, for the construction and operation of a sustainable industrial waste-to-energy facility in PlasChem Park, an industrial park adjacent to the Sadara Chemical Complex.

PlasChem Park is a collaborative effort between Sadara and the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu (RCJY) in Jubail Industrial City II.

The industrial waste-to-energy facility will be developed by Veolia under a design-build-own-operate model. As part of the agreement with Sadara, Veolia will treat among others, the identified Sadara industrial waste streams and recover energy to provide steam, cooling and instrument air to the industrial park.

The Sadara/Veolia agreement follows an MoU signed earlier this year and solidifies plans to provide long-term waste management solutions for Sadara.

"This project is a key milestone for the development of Veolia in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the journey towards a circular economy," remarked Sébastien Chauvin, CEO of Veolia Middle East, after inking the deal with Dr Faisal Al-Faqeer, CEO of Sadara at the company head quarters in Jubail.

"The long-term partnership with Sadara is paving our ‘industrial symbiosis’ path, a model in which resources and energy are recycled and recovered, and it will bring the most advanced technologies to support the growth of PlasChem Park," he stated.

According to him, the development of the industrial waste-to-energy facility by Veolia is a game changer for the Jubail chemical industry, providing a local, competitive, sustainable and reliable solution for industrial waste management as well as industrial utility supply for PlasChem Park.

Dr Al Faqeer said: "Since its inception, Sadara has been billed as an enabler of the kingdom’s downstream manufacturing industry, based on our diversified product portfolio and the varied end-use manufacturing opportunities they enable."

"Part of this offering is the ability to lower the capital footprint required for investors and potential investors to set up their facilities in PlasChem Park, and this agreement is a huge step forward for those investors who have already broken ground, or who will soon be breaking ground in the Park," he stated.  

Veolia Saudi Arabia CEO Faisal Al Dawish said: "We are proud to participate in a project of this magnitude. It will contribute to the growth of sustainable business in the Kingdom and the creation of over 100 direct local jobs in kingdom."

"We plan an extensive training program to develop local talent in the region," he added.

Veolia, a global group, develops sustainable responsible services and expertise for companies in many types of industries.  It currently treats over six million tons of industrial waste worldwide.

In Jubail, Veolia group has a track record in the operation and maintenance of industrial wastewater projects and in delivering engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works – specifically, the Marafiq (800,000 cu m/day) and the Sadara (178,000 cu m/day) desalination sea water reverse omosis (SWRO) plants.-TradeArabia News Service