The New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Orascom Construction and Belgium-based BESIX Group to establish a waste-to-energy plant in west Cairo, Invest-Gate reports.

The public-private partnership (PPP) flagship will substitute the fuel demand to power cement plants located in 6th of October City and Sheikh Zayed, Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities Assem El Gazzar said in an official statement on September 11.

Under the deal, signed between Vice President of NUCA Financial and Administrative Affairs Sector Mazen Hassan, General Manager of BESIX Group Philippe Dessoy, and Managing Director of Orascom Maged Abadir, the authority will provide the required land, contributing 10% of the project’s cost.

Additionally, NUCA will provide the required feedstock for recycling, amounting to 2,000 tons of solid waste per day for a concession period of 15 years, starting from the date of commercial operation, according to the statement.

The consortium is required to prepare all necessary technical and financial studies throughout the development phase, study the market for alternative fuels for waste conversion, and identify all cement factories targeted as a buyer for this product, in order to agree on leasing the plants under build-operate-transfer contracts during the 15-year concession period, Hassan explained.