Saudi Arabia aims to attract more foreign investors to the waste management sector, whose executive regulations were approved last Monday, which enhances the Kingdom’s role in the circular carbon economy.
Through the new waste management system, the Saudi National Center for Waste Management (Mowan) aims to contribute to the gross domestic product by 120 billion riyals ($32 billion), and it also aims to create 77,000 jobs and reduce emissions by more than 70 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2035. According to the CEO,
Foreign investments are very limited in this sector due to the previous absence of a regulator and a clear institutional and legislative framework, according to Al-Sibai, who said: “After completing the regulatory and legislative regulations, we have plans to transform waste from landfills into investment opportunities and added value for the private sector, and we aim in partnership with the relevant authorities. Such as the Ministry of Investment, to attract foreign investors to invest in the Kingdom.
The Kingdom’s interest in the circular economy of carbon and its technologies is increasing significantly, as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced in October of last year the establishment of an investment fund in solutions for carbon circular economy technologies in the region and a global initiative that contributes to providing clean fuel solutions with investments of nearly 39 billion riyals. Saudi Arabia contributes 15% of the financing.
The Kingdom expects to have more than 1,200 facilities dealing with waste treatment and management over the next 13 years, according to Al-Sibai. He said, “We will be able to achieve the national target to exclude 82% of all waste generated in Saudi Arabia from landfills by 2035, and it is targeted to exclude 94% of municipal solid waste in the same year.”
The system sets strict fines to protect the public environment, and the maximum penalty in the new system is 30 million riyals or imprisonment for 10 years, and there is a fine of up to 10 million riyals for anyone who works with an unlicensed entity or manages waste incorrectly or disposes of it randomly.