Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC), a member of the Islamic Development Bank Group, is pleased to announce that the groundbreaking Sharjah Waste-to Energy Project has again been honoured by prestigious media and industry organisations. ICIEC and project partners were presented with the MENA Waste Deal of the Year Award at the IJGlobal MENA Awards Dinner in Dubai on March 13, 2019.

The IJGlobal Awards celebrate the best-in-class infrastructure and energy transactions to have closed over the past calendar year while recognising the organisations that play a central role in these deals.

The Sharjah Waste-to-Energy (WtE) project is the first WtE scheme to be financed in the Gulf region as the Gulf states move away from landfills to more environmentally friendly disposal solutions. The project, led by UAE clean energy firms Masdar and Bee’ah, will help Sharjah reach its zero waste to landfill target by 2020 and contribute to the UAE’s 2021 goal of diverting 75% of solid waste from landfill. ICIEC provided cover for the project’s construction financing, working in partnership with fellow financial institutions SMBC, Siemens Bank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and Standard Chartered.

Chief Executive Officer of ICIEC, Mr. Oussama Kaissi, thanked IJGlobal and project partners, stating “The IJGlobal award represents one of the highest possible accolades in the world of infrastructure and project finance and are a recognition of the hard work and ingenuity shown by all of the project collaborators. This project will have many positive impacts by creating jobs, safeguarding the environment and improving citizens’ quality of life.” 

The award from IJGlobal comes on the heels of recognition for the Sharjah project at the 2018 Project Finance International Awards, where the initiative took home the “Middle East Clean Energy Deal of the Year” award, honouring achievement and ingenuity in the global finance market.