Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Technology has revealed efforts are underway to complete the construction of the waste-to-energy plant at the regional waste management facility in Addu City by end of July.
The incinerators for the plant were designed and manufactured overseas. The plant is 95% complete, according to the environment ministry. The control building and waste collection building are currently being constructed. The cost of both buildings is USD3 million. The environment ministry has said the plant will revolutionise the waste problem in the country within the next two years.
The government contracted South Korean joint venture company Lotus Kunwar to establish the waste-to-energy facility in Addu. The project is being funded with USD16 million from the Maldives Green Fund. The machinery and incinerators needed to burn waste for energy generation were designed and made abroad.
The environment ministry stated the waste-to-energy plant will burn 50 tonnes of waste per day and generate 1.5MW of electricity per hour in Addu. The ministry also stated the facility will be connected to the power grid of State Electric Company Limited (STELCO).
The government decided to establish the first waste-to-energy plant in the Maldives as part of its commitment to sustainable waste management and pave the way for solving the waste management issues in the atolls.