Work begins on Oman’s first waste-oil-to-biofuel plant

Circular Economy: The project will be implemented as a joint venture in partnership with UK company Green Fuels Ltd

BUSINESS REPORTER -

MUSCAT, MARCH 15 -

Wakud, a key player in the waste cooking oil recycling field, has begun construction of its state-of-the-art plant at Khazaen Economic City, which will be the first facility in Oman to recycle waste cooking oil into biofuel.

The plant, for which Wakud International signed an industrial lease agreement with Khazaen in June 2020, is expected to be operational by June 2021.

It will sustainably optimise untapped waste resources, thereby promoting the culture of innovation in the Sultanate.

This innovative project is being supported by the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-Up Unit and the ‘Ejaad’ initiative.

The project will be implemented as a joint venture in partnership with UK company Green Fuels Ltd, a pioneer in renewable fuels founded in 2003 and which has supplied biofuel equipment with aggregate capacity equating to $500 bn in fuel sales to customers in more than 80 countries, saving approximately 7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent during that period.

Speaking at the ground-breaking ceremony, Talal Hasan, chairman of the Board of Directors of Wakud, said, “We could not have chosen a better location for this pioneering project than Khazaen. Indeed, we have benefitted from several advantages that Khazaen has continued to offer since the signing of the lease agreement, like clarity in procedures, ease in completion of approvals from concerned entities, professional customer service and zero administrative costs.”

Talal added, “We are delighted to have commenced construction of the facility, which will add value to Oman’s circular economy in many ways and will catalyse the biofuel ecosystem in Oman.’’

Eng Salim al Thuhli, Acting CEO, Khazaen said, “We are pleased to witness the ground-breaking of the Wakud facility in Khazaen.

This economic city continues to attract more investors from various industries as it offers strategic location, direct connectivity to the main roads and major ports, along with other commercial incentives such as flexible lease packages that suit different types of investor.”