Hazardous waste handling facilities set up in North Batinah and Duqm

MUSCAT, SEPT 14 - Oman Environmental Services Holding Company SAOC (be’ah), the sole agency overseeing the solid waste services sector in the Sultanate, says it is continuing to invest in the development of modern hazardous waste handling and treatment facilities, which are a prerequisite for the growth of a robust domestic industrial sector. The wholly-government run agency has partnered with leading international solutions providers to help set up and operate modern complexes for hazardous industrial waste at two key locations in the country: one in North Al Batinah not far from Sohar Port and Free Zone, and the other in Duqm, where one of the region’s largest industrial and economic hubs is currently under development. According to be’ah, the bigger of the two facilities is at an advanced stage of development at Liwa in North Al Batinah. Conceived as an Integrated Hazardous Waste Handling and Treatment Facility, the sprawling complex will eventually include an incineration plant, physical and chemical treatment unit, solidification unit, and pre-treatment and storage units. Importantly, the North Al Batinah facility will also feature three engineered landfills catering to different kinds of hazardous waste. The largest of these is a 500,000 sq metre capacity yard designed to hold non-leaching wastes. Also envisaged are two other engineered landfills each of 400,000 sq metre capacity, one earmarked for moderately leaching wastes while the other is exclusively reserved for wastes with high leaching potential. “This facility is designed to treat oil and chemical waste. The project’s timeline has been envisaged in a way that the operations are rolled out in a phased manner,” said be’ah in its newly published 2019 Annual Report. In the far southeast of the country, be’ah has brought into operation a hazardous waste landfill at Duqm, where a number of mega industrial and petrochemical projects are in various stages of planning and development. “The waste handling facility is designed for both municipal and industrial waste. The landfill can accept inorganic industrial waste with the highest values defined in the landfill acceptance criteria,” according to be’ah. “The facility also includes a storage and handling area for industrial organic waste destined for incineration and industrial waste needing further treatment before landfill disposal.” Around 6,400 tonnes of industrial waste, including some quantities of hazardous waste, were collected from various waste generators during 2019, according to beah. It includes waste streams from Oil & Gas production processes, power and water production, and industrial and petrochemical activities. “Industrial waste is categorised as hazardous if it causes or poses a threat to a person or the environment due to its physical, chemical or biological nature and mostly constitutes oil, chemical substances as well as compounds listed as hazardous by the government,” the agency explained. Studies are also underway to evaluate the requirements of waste generators operating in the oilfield areas of the country, as well as in Dhofar Governorate, be’ah added.