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RABAT, Aug 4 (Reuters) – A consortium led by Swiss-Japanese firm Kanadevia Inova said it plans to start building a $1.5 billion waste-to-energy plant in Casablanca by the end of the year, with full operations expected by mid-2030.
The facility in Morocco’s largest city will be the second of its kind in Africa and aims to generate electricity while reducing methane emissions and other environmental impacts from the Mediouna landfill, the largest in the country.
Waste management firm Kanadevia Inova and its partners signed a concession agreement awarded by Casablanca’s city government on Monday.
The consortium includes Moroccan energy company Nareva and Japan’s Itochu.
Kanadevia Inova said that once operational, the plant will process about 1.5 million metric tons of waste annually and generate around 115 megawatts of electricity from a mix of waste, solar power and landfill gas, enough to supply nearly 1 million people.
Opponents of such plants – including environmental scientists, climate activists and local community groups – say they undermine recycling initiatives and emit particulate matter and greenhouse gases as most of them rely on incineration.
Construction in Casablanca would begin once debt and equity financing were fully secured by the fourth quarter of this year, Kanadevia Inova’s Chief Executive Bruno-Frédéric Baudouin said in an interview with Reuters.
He said the plant, to be built by Moroccan construction company Somagec, should take about 3.5 years to complete, although waste treatment and electricity generation could begin six to 10 months before final completion.
The consortium has also secured a power purchase agreement with state-owned electricity utility ONEE and would seek financing from Moroccan lenders, Baudouin said.
“The debt will be all local,” he said.
The Mediouna landfill on the outskirts of the city has for decades generated foul odours and pollution that seeps into nearby farmland, while decomposing waste releases methane and other greenhouse gases.
Baudouin said the new plant could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an amount equivalent to around 20% of Switzerland’s annual emissions.
“It’s like removing 300,000 cars from the road,” he said.
(Reporting by Ahmed El Jechtimi; Editing by Alexander Dziadosz and Hugh Lawson)
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