averda announces entry into Saudi market

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averda, a leading regional environmental services company, has announced the launch of its operations in Saudi Arabia yesterday (March 7th, 2010) at the opening of the ‘Gulf Environmental Forum’ which runs until March 9th at the Hilton Hotel, Jeddah. The company, which is now ready to offer a full collection and disposal service for the private sector in Saudi Arabia, is currently showcasing its comprehensive range of services at stand H02. averda’s latest expansion initiative will cover the Eastern, Western and Central regions of Saudi Arabia.

Last year, the Kingdom produced 13 million tons of garbage, from a population of some 28 million, at a rate of approximately 1.3 kilograms per person each day. With the World Bank placing KSA as the 13th most ‘economically competitive’ country in the world, analysts believe that the country’s strong GDP, which implies higher consumer spending, is further fueling the production of waste. Moreover, the gradual shift from oil and gas production to the manufacturing and services sectors also plays a significant role in such massive waste generation. Construction debris in Riyadh alone has reached 2.1 million tons in 2009, with commercial and domestic waste adding another 1.4 million tons.

With an initial team of some 250 operatives in KSA, averda has the capacity to provide more effective and advanced recycling and resource management to the Kingdom. The company’s wide range of services include source separated collection, on-board weighing and on-line viewing and control.

Speaking at the event, Walid Shaar, averda’s Chief Operations Officer, said, “As far as recycling and resource management goes, the Middle East region and KSA in particular are steadily progressing in the right direction. Accordingly we are working very hard to introduce a new level of service that will help the region build an efficient waste-control system. As perceptions about the environment in the Middle East continue to gradually change, we believe that our entry into Saudi Arabia will encourage both the public and private sectors to adopt technologically advanced solutions for their resource management needs. We are proud to be making this announcement here at this event, and reiterate our commitment to the Saudi market.”

A key element of averda’s KSA-based operations is its ability to monitor its own environmental footprint through a fleet management tracking programme. The company sees such new technology as the standard model for servicing future environmentally friendly cities. In addition, averda has also specified and deployed a range of hybrid trucks and electrically operated vehicles to safely transport waste and discarded materials in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Finally, both labour and equipment are integrated and shared across averda’s broad range of services to manage costs and minimize downtime.

“We have high hopes for our latest venture, and we are optimistic about the impact we will have in the Kingdom’s recycling and resource management sector,” concluded Shaar.