UAE

UAE creates more household waste than any other GCC country except Saudi Arabia

Emirates generates almost five million tonnes of household rubbish, much of it capable of being recycled, report says.

Vesela Todorova

May 18, 2010

  • English
  • Arabic

ABU DHABI // The UAE was the second-largest generator of household waste in the Gulf last year, much of it recyclable materials, a report to be made public today reveals. The document, Waste Management in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: An Overview, will be distributed today at the opening of the Middle East Waste Summit 2010, which runs in Dubai until Thursday. GCC countries generated more than 22.2 million tonnes of household waste in 2009, with 4.9 million tonnes - or 22 per cent of the total - coming from the UAE. More than half of the waste, 58 per cent, was generated in Saudi Arabia.

Furthermore, a large portion of waste generated in the GCC consists of recyclable elements - plastic, glass, metal and paper - and organic material that could have been composted. The paper, which was prepared by the consultancy Frost & Sullivan, reports that part of the waste can be explained by rapid economic expansion in the region, pegged at seven per cent per year from 2002 through 2007. "One of the unintended impacts of this fast-paced growth is an equally sharp increase in the volume of waste generated," it said. "Today, the GCC countries rank even higher than many of the developed countries in terms of per capita waste generation."

Sam Patel, an event director for the summit's organiser, Turret Middle East, said the large volumes of waste and a lack of recycling put pressure on the region's dumps. "Landfill sites in the UAE are filling up fast," he said. "It is not just Dubai or the UAE that has an issue with waste, it is the whole Arab region." Delegates to the event will hear from more than 50 speakers on how governments elsewhere have been able to deal with waste issues. Also speaking will be representatives of Masdar, the world's first carbon neutral city, being built on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi.

@Email:vtodorova@thenational.ae

if you go

The flights

Flydubai flies to Podgorica or nearby Tivat via Sarajevo from Dh2,155 return including taxes. Turkish Airlines flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Podgorica via Istanbul; alternatively, fly with Flydubai from Dubai to Belgrade and take a short flight with Montenegro Air to Podgorica. Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Podgorica via Belgrade. Flights cost from about Dh3,000 return including taxes. There are buses from Podgorica to Plav. 

The tour

While you can apply for a permit for the route yourself, it’s best to travel with an agency that will arrange it for you. These include Zbulo in Albania (www.zbulo.org) or Zalaz in Montenegro (www.zalaz.me).

 

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

While you're here
The biog

Hobbies: Salsa dancing “It's in my blood” and listening to music in different languages

Favourite place to travel to: “Thailand, as it's gorgeous, food is delicious, their massages are to die for!”  

Favourite food: “I'm a vegetarian, so I can't get enough of salad.”

Favourite film:  “I love watching documentaries, and am fascinated by nature, animals, human anatomy. I love watching to learn!”

Best spot in the UAE: “I fell in love with Fujairah and anywhere outside the big cities, where I can get some peace and get a break from the busy lifestyle”

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