The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the World Bank Group, is to provide backing for a new electric arc furnace dust recycling plant in Saudi Arabia, MIGA said Friday.
MIGA has issued $15.3 million in guarantees to Switzerland's Global Steel Dust for its investments in the construction and operation of Saudi Arabia's first EAF dust recycling plant.
To date, Saudi Arabia produces about 190,000 mt/year of EAF dust -- a hazardous industrial waste generated from the secondary process of steel production -- but no facility currently exists to safely and sustainably recycle this waste, MIGA said in a statement.
"In addition to providing environmental benefits, the plant will support the country's effort to encourage private sector development and diversify its economy in favor of non-oil industries," the agency said.
The steel dust facility will produce zinc oxide and iron product as main outputs of the recycling process. Zinc oxide will be exported to European markets, while the iron product will be used in road construction, cement manufacturing, and steel production in Saudi Arabia.
Additionally, the recycling plant will facilitate the transfer of energy-efficient technology in Saudi Arabia, create new private sector jobs, and enable partnerships with local engineering universities to train and prepare students for opportunities in this sector.
"We hope that Global Steel Dust's construction of the first EAF dust recycling plant in the MENA region will offer Saudi Arabia's steel industry an environmentally sustainable way of disposing this waste, while also enabling the recovery of key metals," said MIGA's executive vice president and CEO, Keiko Honda, in the statement.
