Oman: Oman's government has approved the construction of an industrial hazardous waste handling and treatment plant at Sohar in the North Al Batinah Governorate, according to Mohammed Sulaiman al Harthy, executive vice president (corporate strategic development) of Oman Environmental Services Holding Company. The plant will be built at Liwa, not far from Sohar Port, home to the Sultanate's biggest heavy industrial hub.
The facility will handle the estimated 1.47Mt/yr of potentially harmful waste generated by the country's burgeoning industrial sector. It will serve as the cornerstone of hazardous waste management infrastructure being developed for the entire country and will include specialised landfills and transfer stations in Duqm and Dhofar Governorate.
According to Al Harthy, Sohar accounts for around 90% of the country's current industrial hazardous waste output, with significant amounts of slag being generated by the metallurgical industries operating in the industrial port and the nearby industrial park. Approval also been granted by the Supreme Council for Planning and Sohar Industrial Port.
The complex will include storage facilities and pre-treatment units. There will also be a dedicated waste solidification facility with 100,000t/yr capacity, alongside a physical/chemical treatment plant designed to process 1000t/yr of waste. A thermal treatment plant of around 50,000t/yr capacity is envisioned as well. Additionally, areas have been allocated within the site to accommodate 28Mm3 of industrial slag, which will be used for reclamation.
