Waste to energy plant for Addis Ababa

A 50 MW waste to energy plant is to be constructed in Addis Ababa following a deal between the state power utility company Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) and UK-based waste to energy developer, Cambridge Industries.

The plant will cost an estimated US$120 million and will be located in the Repi district, commonly known as Koshe in south-west Addis Ababa. The facility is the first of its kind in Ethiopia is to be built on seven hectares of the 47-hectare open dump that has been in the area since 1968 and receives 1,500 cubic metres of waste per day.

Ethiopia's Environmental Protection Authority stated that the Repi dump, which was a "safe" and "distant" site when it first opened, is now neither safe nor distant due to the massive amount of waste dumped there and the capital's expanding urbanisation.

In recent years environmentalists have blamed the Repi dump for substantial emissions of methane gas while locals complain of nausea due to the strong odour.

The environment ministry and the local authorities are said to be working to streamline the city’s refuse collection to help address the capital’s growing problem of waste management.

The Ethiopian government is finalising a 25-year integrated plan for the power sector, with a feasibility study on waste to energy showing the potential for 35 facilities capable of generating electric power in cities across the country.