meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Abu Dhabi’s Tadweer aims to revolutionise waste management

30 September 2025

 

Tadweer Group has launched a new company, Tadweer Collection (Tajmee’e), that aims to revolutionise waste management in Abu Dhabi. The new entity has been tasked with transforming waste collection and treatment through advanced technologies, data-driven operations and community engagement, with the goal of diverting 80% of waste away from landfill by 2030.

“Technology is the central nervous system of Tajmee’e’s operations,” says Matt Rogers, executive director of technology and digital at Tadweer Group (pictured, right).

“It is no longer just a supporting function but a core strategic driver alongside community engagement and partnerships. Every aspect of the business, from collections and asset management to customer service and sustainability reporting, is built around digital integration.”

Technology core

Tajmee’e’s activities are structured around an integrated waste management platform that brings together collection, transportation and treatment into a single system. The company has adopted artificial intelligence to optimise collection routes, improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. Collection vehicles are equipped with telemetry systems to monitor speed, braking, idling and fuel use. At the same time, containers are fitted with sensors that measure fill levels and transmit data in real time, enabling dynamic scheduling of collections according to need rather than fixed timetables.

Other digital technologies reinforce this approach. Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags allow bins to be tracked, while computer vision systems inspect containers for damage, contamination or overflow as trucks arrive. These innovations collectively aim to transform waste collection from a fixed, schedule-based service into a flexible, intelligent logistics operation.

Investment is also being directed at downstream treatment facilities. At new material recovery plants, optical sorting systems and robotics guided by artificial intelligence will be introduced to increase efficiency, reduce contamination and improve the quality of recycled materials. Waste-to-energy plants are also planned to process non-recyclable materials, generating energy and reducing reliance on landfill.

Strategic asset

The technological transformation is underpinned by the systematic collection and analysis of data. Every pick-up generates operational information on weight, type and volume of material, as well as vehicle and environmental data. Fleet management software records driving behaviour and emissions, while facility monitoring systems capture energy yields and recycling rates.

This data is processed through predictive models that allow Tajmee’e to forecast future waste volumes, manage contamination levels and plan capacity requirements.

Rogers says the objective is to become a “big data enterprise” that makes strategic decisions guided by real-time information. This approach supports the company’s headline target of diverting 80% of waste away from landfill by 2030.

Artificial intelligence is central to this process. Beyond route optimisation and robotic sorting, it is being applied in areas such as health and safety. Cameras in vehicles can detect whether drivers are wearing seatbelts or engaging in unsafe behaviour, allowing managers to intervene and improve training. “Some of these less tangible uses of AI provide the greatest value,” says Rogers.

The adoption of advanced technology inevitably involves cost. “You do see a slight uplift in costs compared to traditional models, but it is quickly recouped through efficiency gains,” says Rogers.

International potential

Tajmee’e’s ambitions extend beyond Abu Dhabi. The company has been established with a mandate to explore international markets, with potential entry routes ranging from acquisitions and joint ventures to licensing of technology platforms. Options are open at this stage and will be pursued on a case-by-case basis.

Centralised operations in Abu Dhabi provide the foundation for this expansion. The company has created a command-and-control centre that monitors live camera feeds and data flows from across the city. Artificial intelligence enables automated responses to incidents, reducing the need for human oversight. Once established, this model can be scaled to monitor operations in other markets regardless of geography. “Distance is not an issue,” says Rogers. “With AI support, we can manage fleets and facilities on the other side of the world.”

Such capabilities allow Abu Dhabi to serve local needs and export expertise, in much the same way that the UAE has leveraged its experience in aviation, ports and logistics to create global businesses.

Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14768562/main4309.jpg
Colin Foreman

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Dubai extends bid deadline for Jebel Ali drainage project

    2 October 2025

     

    Dubai Municipality has extended the bid deadline for a stormwater drainage system in Jebel Ali and the surrounding areas.

    The new deadline is 16 October, a source close to the project told MEED.

    The project covers approximately 27 kilometres of stormwater network and will serve major transport routes, including Sheikh Zayed Road and Al-Jamayel Road.

    The bid submission date for the tender, listed as TF-05-C1, was initially 2 October.

    Works include the installation of pipes ranging from 600 millimetres to 3,500 millimetres, construction of a high-capacity pump station with a capacity of 10 cubic metres a second, and development of open channels and catch basins. The system will be integrated with existing infrastructure.

    Dubai Municipality said the project is intended to manage runoff efficiently, improve road network reliability during storms, and support ongoing and future development in the Jebel Ali area.

    The scheme is being procured by the municipality’s Sewerage and Recycled Water Projects Department as part of the Tasreef programme.

    The latest tender follows a string of recent drainage and stormwater tenders by the municipality.

    Bidding is ongoing for a separate project to develop a stormwater pond, evacuation line and pumping station, including a drainage system along the Dubai-Al-Ain road.

    The bid submission date for this tender, listed under RFQ 229910, was moved to 9 October.

    The initial deadline was 25 September.

    READ THE OCTOBER 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Private sector takes on expanded role; Riyadh shifts towards strategic expenditure; MEED’s 2025 power developer ranking

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > AGENDA 1: A new dawn for PPPs
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14787792/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Riyadh accelerates towards Vision 2030

    2 October 2025

    In April 2016, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman unveiled Vision 2030, a bold blueprint to transform Saudi Arabia’s economy and society. Nearly a decade later, the kingdom is not only on track but has exceeded several key milestones, reshaped its global reputation and unlocked unprecedented investment opportunities.

    At the heart of Vision 2030 are the flagship gigaprojects that have moved from concept to construction. In 2024 alone, gigaproject contracts exceeded $25bn, contributing to a record $154bn in total awards. In the first half of 2025, a total of $25.7bn was awarded – approximately $44.2bn less than the contracts awarded in the first half of 2024.

    The slowdown in activity levels is most acute in the Saudi gigaprojects programme. After growing exponentially each year up to 2023, awards on the programme declined in 2024 and have collapsed almost completely this year as the market transitions to a new phase focused on delivering high-profile international events.

    Saudi Arabia’s transformation is not limited to its headline-grabbing mega developments – key sectors across the economy are also booming.

    In the oil and gas sector, Saudi Aramco is investing heavily in oil-to-chemical complexes and unconventional gas resources, reinforcing the country’s energy dominance. In power, the kingdom is aggressively expanding its renewable energy capacity, aiming to significantly increase the share of renewables in total power generation. The water sector is seeing major infrastructure investment, with over $15bn in contracts awarded in 2024 alone, and a further $7.9bn already committed in 2025 to desalination, treatment and pipeline projects.

    In housing, the National Housing Company is spearheading efforts to deliver 500,000 affordable homes to meet growing demand. Meanwhile, airports in Riyadh and Jeddah are undergoing substantial upgrades valued at $70bn, reflecting Saudi Arabia’s ambition to become a global transport and logistics hub.

    Reforms include public-private partnership (PPP) frameworks to attract private capital

    Strategic shifts

    With a $1.5tn project pipeline, Saudi Arabia faces growing pains: cost inflation, supply chain bottlenecks and workforce constraints. 

    To address these, Riyadh is encouraging international contractors to enter the market; developing super-contractors through joint ventures; and restructuring procurement to favour partnerships over traditional contracting.  

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14786895/main.gif
    MEED Editorial
  • PPP success should be carefully managed

    2 October 2025

    Commentary
    Colin Foreman
    Editor

    Read the October issue of MEED Business Review

    At first glance, it is the same old story for public-private partnerships (PPPs). National visions require billions of dollars of infrastructure spending, while at the same time government budgets are under pressure.

    Those twin pressures have not always produced successful PPPs outside the traditional power and water sectors in the region. Results have been mixed by sector and country.

    This time around, it is different. While national visions remain as ambitious as ever and state budgets are strained, there has been a shift in mindset as governments realise that PPPs offer more than just an opportunity to get infrastructure delivered for free. 

    The shift has come from the top as leaders seeks to modernise their economies with a thriving private sector. This reduces the state’s capital expenditure burden, while also giving the private sector an opportunity to operate an asset more efficiently for a profit. 

    With buy-in from the highest levels of government, there have been legislative changes and new entities formed to help make PPPs a success.

    These changes have enabled a series of pathfinder projects across the region in recent years that demonstrate that the model does work and even offers benefits that may not have been initially envisaged – such as increased school attendance at PPP schools in Saudi Arabia. 

    As the region now looks to build on that success, there is a risk that governments could overload what is still a nascent market. The capacity to deliver PPPs remains limited, and while it is growing, it is not expanding as quickly as the project pipeline. 

    Governments should ensure that projects are phased with market capacity in mind. If they do not, the danger is the market will collapse under its own weight, as projects may not be competitively tendered, could fail to proceed and may undermine the confidence built up in recent years.

    READ THE OCTOBER 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Private sector takes on expanded role; Riyadh shifts towards strategic expenditure; MEED’s 2025 power developer ranking

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > AGENDA 1: A new dawn for PPPs
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14780787/main.gif
    Colin Foreman
  • Consortiums form for UAE high-speed rail

    2 October 2025

     

    Register for MEED’s 14-day trial access 

    Contractors are forming joint ventures to bid for upcoming design-and-build work packages for the UAE’s high-speed railway (HSR) project.

    The UAE’s Etihad Rail issued the tender for the contract on 10 January, with submissions due on 15 October.

    MEED understands that the group formations for the civil works packages are as follows:

    • Limak / Dogus / Ozkar (Turkiye) – Dubai section
    • NPC / Trojan Tunneling / Kalyon / China State (UAE/UAE/Turkiye/China) – Dubai and Abu Dhabi section
    • WeBuild / Tristar (Italy/UAE) – Abu Dhabi section
    • L&T / China Harbour / Hilalco / Wade Adams (India/China/local/local) – Dubai and Abu Dhabi
    • China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (China) – Dubai and Abu Dhabi
    • China Railway Engineering Corporation (China) – Dubai section
    • China Railway Engineering Corporation / WBG (China/local) – Abu Dhabi

    French engineering firm Systra is the designer for the Limak-led consortium.

    US-based firm Jacobs is the designer for the NPC group.

    A joint venture of Systra and US-based Aecom is the designer for the WeBuild group.

    French engineering firm Egis and Malaysia’s Surbana Jurong are the designers for the L&T-led consortium.

    Switzerland’s ARX is working with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation as its designer.

    Chinese firm China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group is working with China Railway Engineering Corporation as its lead designer for both sections of the project.

    Teams are also forming for the systems package. These are:

    • Siemens / Rowad / Salcef (Germany/Egypt/Italy)
    • Hitachi / Orascom (Japan/Egypt)
    • Alstom / L&T (France/India)
    • CRRC (China)
    • Hyundai Rotem / Posco (South Korea)
    • Talgo / Hassan Allam (Spain/Egypt)
    • CAF (Spain)

    The design speed of the trains running on the UAE’s HSR network will be 350 kilometres an hour (km/h) and the operating speed will be 320km/h, as MEED reported last year.

    The proposed HSR programme will be constructed in four phases, gradually adding further connectivity to other areas within the UAE.

    The first phase involves the construction of a railway line connecting Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which is expected to be operational by 2030.

    The second phase will involve the development of an inner-city railway network with 10 stations within the city of Abu Dhabi.

    The third phase of the railway network involves the construction of a connection between Abu Dhabi and Al-Ain.

    The fourth phase involves the development of an inter-emirate connection between Dubai and Sharjah.

    The 150km first phase of the HSR will stretch from the Al-Zahiyah area of Abu Dhabi to Al-Jaddaf in Dubai.

    The project’s civil works have been split into two packages – Abu Dhabi and Dubai – comprising four sections. The scope of these sections includes:

    • Phase 1A: Al-Zahiyah to Yas Island (23.5km) 
    • Phase 1B: Yas Island to the border of Abu Dhabi/Dubai (64.2km)
    • Phase 1C: Abu Dhabi/Dubai border to Al-Jaddaf (52.1km)
    • Phase 1D: Abu Dhabi airport delta junction and connection with Abu Dhabi airport station (9.2km)

    The rail line will have five stations: Al-Zahiyah (ADT), Saadiyat Island (ADS), Yas Island (YAS), Abu Dhabi airport (AUH) and Al-Jaddaf (DJD).

    The ADT, AUH and DJD stations will be underground, while ADS will be elevated and YAS will be at grade.

    The overall construction package also includes provisions for the rolling stock, railway systems and two maintenance depots.

    The high-speed project will slash journey times between the UAE’s two largest cities and economic centres. The journey time between the YAS and DJD stations will be 30 minutes.

    Preliminary site testing works have begun. Dubai-based Matcon Testing Laboratory and Abu Dhabi’s Engineering & Research International are conducting drilling tests to ascertain the ground conditions in areas through which the HSR will pass. 

    Spanish engineering firms Sener and Ineco are the project’s engineering consultants.

    READ THE OCTOBER 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Private sector takes on expanded role; Riyadh shifts towards strategic expenditure; MEED’s 2025 power developer ranking

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > AGENDA 1: A new dawn for PPPs
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14786714/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Iraq aims to double oil flows through export pipeline

    2 October 2025

    Iraq aims to more than double oil flows through the recently reopened Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline (ITP) before the end of the year, according to the Iraqi state oil marketing company Somo.

    Somo aims to transport between 400,000 and 500,000 barrels a day (b/d) by 2026, says Somo spokesperson Rikan Kareem.

    Pipeline flows were running at 150,000-160,000 b/d on 29 September after reopening on 27 September.

    The oil tanker Vallesina is expected to load 700,000 barrels of Iraqi Kurdistan crude oil at Turkiye’s Ceyhan port, becoming the first tanker to load Iraqi Kurdistan crude in more than two and a half years.

    Since oil flows restarted to Turkiye from Iraqi Kurdistan on 27 September, stakeholder sentiment has improved about the outlook for the oil sector in northern Iraq.

    The oil pipeline shutdown, which began two and a half years ago, weighed heavily on the region, costing tens of billions of dollars in lost revenues, according to the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (Apikur).

    During this period, numerous oil projects were put on hold and oil smuggling flourished as producers sold cheap crude into the local market.

    The economic strain also led to salary delays for public sector workers and cuts to essential services.

    The pipeline restart came after eight oil companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan, representing over 90% of production, reached agreements with Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to resume exports.

    Under the terms of the deal, the KRG will deliver the crude to Somo, and an independent trader will handle sales from the Turkish port of Ceyhan using Somo’s official prices.

    The eight oil producers have agreed to accept a temporary price of $16 a barrel until a review by consultancy Wood Mackenzie is completed.

    The consultancy has been contracted by the Iraqi government to assess production and transportation costs for Kurdish oil, and its assessment will inform the final payment rate.

    The final review is expected to lead to a retroactive adjustment of payments.

    READ THE OCTOBER 2025 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Private sector takes on expanded role; Riyadh shifts towards strategic expenditure; MEED’s 2025 power developer ranking

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the October 2025 edition of MEED Business Review includes:

    > AGENDA 1: A new dawn for PPPs
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/14783581/main.jpg
    Wil Crisp