The new facility, with a capacity to treat and process 50 cubic metres of grease and other oily wastes, will be built this year by Al Shamsi – a private group.

Grease and oily waste generated mostly from restaurants clog the sewerage network of the municipality-run treatment plant, and kill the bacteria used to purify water.

Talib AbdulKarim Julfar, Director of Drainage and Irrigation Department blamed tankers carrying wastewater from restaurants for clogging their system by mixing grease and oily waste with wastewater before sending it to the treatment plant in Al Aweer.

It is mandatory for restaurants and hotels to install grease separators. Tanker operators promise to recycle oily waste and collect them from restaurants charging restaurant owners about Dh250 to Dh300 based on the quantity.

"But instead of separating the waste they mix it with water and send it to our sewerage plant, clogging our system and affecting our productivity. We will put an immediate end to such practise and ensure that only licensed trucks collect waste from restaurants,” said Julfar.

The new facility will be completed by July of this year, and by the end of 2008 is expected to generate additional revenue to the civic body of Dh500,000 in the first year.

The treatment plant will be built and managed by Al Serkal Group, on a 15-year Build Operate Transfer (BOT) agreement with Dubai Municipality.

Construction of the plant will begin this month and will be fully functional by July, with an optimum capacity to treat and process 50 cubic metres of grease and other wastes a day. In its second phase, the capacity will be rise to 100 cubic metres. The initial cost of the project is expected to be Dh8 million.

While the Al Serkal Group will build and operate the facility, Dubai Municipality through its departments of Drainage and Irrigation and Environment will implement rules and regulations, supervise all operations and play an active role in implementing and adhering to safety policies.

Dubai at present has three sewage and hazardous waste treatment plants, the Sewage Treatment Plant at Al Aweer, Sewage Treatment Plant at Jebel Ali and the Hazardous Waste Treatment Plant at Jebel Ali. None of these plants are equipped to treat oil and grease waste. (Emirates Today)