A major industrial waste treatment facility – the biggest of its kind in the Sultanate of Oman – has commenced operations in the Wilayat of Suhar in North Al Batinah Governorate. When fully completed over multiple phases – tentatively by the year 2025 - it will be equipped to handle all kinds of industrial and hazardous waste generated in the country.
According to Oman Environmental Services Holding Co (be’ah), the state-owned entity overseeing the management of solid waste services in the Sultanate of Oman, Phase 1 of the Sohar facility has been completed and is now operational. It includes three landfills, as well as an open and closed area for industrial waste. In Phase 2 of its development, the facility will incorporate a solidification plant, as well as lab installations.
Following the start-up of operations at the Sohar Industrial Waste Treatment Facility, a temporary waste storage area set up in nearby Liwa is being phased out, with all of its waste held in storage being moved to Sohar.
Modern industrial waste treatment and disposal infrastructure is key to sustaining the growth of a thriving industrial and manufacturing sector in the country, as well as waste generating sectors, such as Oil and Gas, Petrochemicals and Refining, Mining and Mineral Processing, and so on. In 2021, around 11,000 tonnes of industrial waste were received at the Sohar facility for treatment and disposal.
be’ah describes industrial waste as “waste generated in industrial processes, as well as the waste derived from mining, oil and gas, and water and electricity production activities”, which in most cases is also termed as hazardous waste.
“In processing this waste stream, be’ah continues to maintain infrastructure and operations that takes into account the best interests of Oman’s natural environment. Throughout 2021, be’ah continued to partner with leading sustainability and environmental bodies across the world to stay ahead of the latest research and practices when it comes to industrial waste,” the company – part of Oman Investment Authority (OIA) – said.
Small amounts of non-hazardous industrial wastes are also handled at Municipal Solid Waste stations across the country, and treated at industrial waste treatment facilities located in Thamrait and Duqm, besides Sohar.
At Duqm, where a mega-scale special economic zone is under development, be’ah and the local authority have constructed a waste handling facility for both municipal and industrial waste. The landfill is designed to accept inorganic industrial waste. The facility also includes storage and handling areas for industrial organic waste destined for incineration and industrial waste which need further treatment before landfill disposal. The Duqm Industrial Waste facility began receiving wastes from the last quarter of 2021.
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