Shearman & Sterling is advising on the development and financing of the Sharjah Multi-fuel Waste-to-Energy project in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The project consists of the development of a multi-fuel power plant which will be capable of processing more than 300,000 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) each year and generating approximately 30 megawatts of power.

This unique project, due for completion in 2020, will be the first project-financed waste-to-energy plant in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It marks a significant step towards the achievement of Sharjah's aim to send "zero waste-to-landfill" by 2020 and will also help the UAE deliver on its goal of diverting 74 percent of solid waste away from landfill by 2021.

The project is being jointly developed by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company – Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy development company, and Sharjah Environment Company LLC – Bee’ah, the Middle East’s leading environmental management company. It will be located at Bee'ah's existing landfill site in Sharjah and is being developed as part of a joint venture between Masdar and Bee’ah which will see the two organizations develop further waste-to-energy plants across the region.

Constructions Industrielles de la Méditerranée has been officially announced as the preferred bidder to build and operate the project. MSW, which serves as feedstock for the project, will be supplied by Bee’ah under a 25-year waste supply agreement (WSA), with the power produced by the plant being purchased by the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority under a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA). The firm advised on the preparation and negotiation of the WSA and PPA, both of which were signed recently, and continues to advise on the construction and financing aspects of the project.