The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has approved funding for an environmental and service project in the Ghabawi landfill for the benefit of the Greater Amman Municipality, through a loan valued at 6 million US dollars for financing the coverage of the fifth cell and connecting it to the landfill gas capture and utilization systems.
According to the bank's data, the total estimated cost of the project is about 12.5 million US dollars (approximately 10.7 million euros), while the European Bank's financing includes a loan worth 6 million dollars (about 5.2 million euros) for the benefit of the Greater Amman Municipality, with a term of up to 12 years and includes a grace period of two years.
The new funding provided by the European Bank covers specific components within the solid waste management project at the Ghabawi landfill, which involves covering the fifth cell to enable the capture of methane gas emissions and their reduction/removal.
It also includes connecting the fifth cell to the existing landfill gas exploitation system (LFG), allowing the recovered gas to be used for electricity generation, in addition to implementing a leachate management system within the cell.
The investment is classified as a sub-project within the European Bank's "Green Cities" program, being a subsequent investment within Amman's Green City Plan (GCAP), and it stimulates the development of the second phase of the same plan.
The work aims to address the risks associated with the uncovered cell, which, according to the bank's data, pose significant environmental risks including; leachate leakage, methane gas emissions, the risk of spontaneous combustion, emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and odors.
In addition to environmental protection, the project aims to support the Greater Amman Municipality's integrated waste management strategy and the “Waste to Energy” approach, by increasing the benefit of generating electricity from landfill gas from 4.8 megawatts to 6.4 megawatts, contributing to offsetting about 60% of the municipality's electricity costs, and supporting circular economy principles. It also includes developing a roadmap for financial sustainability within GCAP2 to enhance the long-term financial stability of the municipality.
The European Bank indicated that the project contributes to enhancing the "green transition" by implementing a final cover layer for the fifth cell, which includes 15 layers of compacted waste totaling over 6.7 million tons of compacted municipal solid waste.
The project is expected to reduce methane emissions and air pollutants that may escape into the atmosphere or cause limited accidents within the landfill, in addition to enhancing energy recovery from landfill gas and increasing renewable energy production on the electricity grid heavily reliant on fossil fuels, according to the bank.
The approval of the new funding comes within the framework of addressing the condition of the fifth cell in the Ghabawi landfill, which was initiated in 2018, before the current funding aimed at its engineering closure and connection to the gas recovery and leachate management systems, as part of the path to complete subsequent investments for the Amman Green City Plan and updating it to GCAP2, incorporating new priorities including digital considerations, gender equality, and human capital development.
