Saudi ministry, PIF plan to set up palm waste recycling firm

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, along with the National Centre for Palms and Dates, and the Saudi Technology Development and Investment Company (TAQNIA), which is owned by the Public Investment Fund (PIF), have discussed setting up a SAR 2.5 billion plant for recycling the wastes of palms, dates and agricultural products.

In a meeting, TAQNIA presented a study that showed how the project will produce organic petrochemical products for the first time in the Middle East, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

According to the study, the project will transform waste into an economic value that complies with Vision 2030 aiming to diversify the Saudi economy.

The plant will be built near Qassim, the second largest palm and date producing area in the Kingdom, with a production capacity of 300,000 tons per year, which requires around 500,000 tons of date, palm and agriculture products’ waste.

The study expects the project to generate about 2000 direct and indirect jobs distributed across other production areas in Riyadh, Al-Ahsa, Madinah and others.

The Kingdom’s agricultural sector produces about 1.7 million tons per year of palm, dates and agricultural waste.