Al Ghabawi Landfill, Amman, Jordan
The Ghabawi solid waste landfill site that serves Amman, the capital of Jordan, and the nearby cities of Zarqa and Russeifa, was running out of space, with ever-increasing deliveries round the clock fast filling its last dug 120,000-square-metre cell, when EBRD made a €102 million loan to the Greater Amman Municipality to improve its infrastructure.
“Cell number one needed about six years to fill. Cell number two took five years, cell number three in four and a half years, and the current one, number four, will only have taken three years – because, in the beginning, this landfill was receiving about 2,000 tonnes a day, and now that’s doubled,” said site manager Chris Hadjidimoulas.
But the crisis has been averted. Work is already advanced on cell five, out of a future total of nine. The financing is linked to a comprehensive plan to reform Amman’s solid waste sector, with a focus on increasing efficiency as well as its operational and financial stability.
The Greek company Chris Hadjidimoulas works for, Helector, is also building a network of pipes in the capped cells to draw off the landfill gas that they emit. Once a power station is built onsite, by next year, the gas will be converted to enough electricity – five megawatts per hour - to power 5,000 houses.
Al Ghabawi Landfill, Amman, Jordan
The Ghabawi solid waste landfill site that serves Amman, the capital of Jordan, and the nearby cities of Zarqa and Russeifa, was running out of space, with ever-increasing deliveries round the clock fast filling its last dug 120,000-square-metre cell, when EBRD made a €102 million loan to the Greater Amman Municipality to improve its infrastructure.
“Cell number one needed about six years to fill. Cell number two took five years, cell number three in four and a half years, and the current one, number four, will only have taken three years – because, in the beginning, this landfill was receiving about 2,000 tonnes a day, and now that’s doubled,” said site manager Chris Hadjidimoulas.
But the crisis has been averted. Work is already advanced on cell five, out of a future total of nine. The financing is linked to a comprehensive plan to reform Amman’s solid waste sector, with a focus on increasing efficiency as well as its operational and financial stability.
The Greek company Chris Hadjidimoulas works for, Helector, is also building a network of pipes in the capped cells to draw off the landfill gas that they emit. Once a power station is built onsite, by next year, the gas will be converted to enough electricity – five megawatts per hour - to power 5,000 houses.