Meetings with Ethiopian officials

WTEI consortium performed key meetings with Ethiopian officials. Recently, we published the “Waste to energy development in Africa – a new plant by WTEI” post. We can now reveal that we previously mentioned the development of a new plant in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Following the project schedule, our local partner, Covenant Engineering, organized and physically attended important meetings in Addis Ababa. WTEI and other consortium members, due to the complicated COVID-19 situation, participated in those meetings by video.

When developing a waste-to-energy project, we focus on conducting a feasibility study and preparing the essential agreements to be signed with local governmental authorities. These agreements are a power purchase agreement, a concession agreement, and a land lease agreement. The first one is the one we have to sign with the state-owned electricity distribution company. The second and third agreements we have to sign with the municipality. Additionally, in many countries, the investment committee plays a significant role in the project. In Ethiopia, it issues the investment license.

Meetings with Ethiopian officials in November 2021

That is why we have several meetings with Ethiopian officials: the Ethiopian Investment Commission, the Addis Ababa city administration, and the Ethiopian Electric Power company.

Her Excellency Ms. Lelise Neme, the Commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission, emphasized that the project for the investment and construction of a waste-to-energy plant in Addis Ababa holds utmost importance. Such a project can bring substantial investments to the country’s economy. Dr Ewnetu, Senior Advisor to the Commissioner, asked several professional questions, which consortium members clarified.

Herr Excellency, Ms. Weynshet, Deputy City Manager, declared the significance and support of the project. Together with Dr. Eshetu, Director of Solid Waste Management, she discussed several topics related to the ecological aspects of the plant and its residuals. WTEI, as the technical developer, provided detailed answers to these questions.

Following that, Mr. Ato Ashebir Balcha (CEO) and Mr. Wudineh Yemane (Engineering Executive) from Ethiopian Electric Power participated in two meetings. The discussion with consortium members covered the technical and economic questions of the projects. Parties discussed the preparation of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The consortium works now on this document.

To sum up, the meetings mentioned above provided a new impetus to the project and created a solid foundation for finalizing the feasibility study.