MariMatic wins waste collection contract for Saudi Arabia's Masar

Saudi Arabia - Technology company MariMatic, which specialize in automated solid waste collection systems (AWCS) and vacuum conveying systems for underground waste collection, has secured a new order for supplying MetroTaifun systems to Makkah’s upcoming destination — Masar.

The project’s core components consist of walking boulevards lined with waste bins and more than 210 plots comprising hotels and apartment buildings connected to a pipe network. Umm Alqura for Development and Construction (UAQ) is the owner and developer of the Masar destination.

Waste is collected and transported directly through an underground pipe network by using vacuum conveying to a waste transfer terminal, eliminating noisy and polluting traditional waste trucks from the area. The waste eventually ends up in containers located in the waste transfer terminal. The system can collect up to 300 tons of waste per day.

The design, build and operate contract includes operation and maintenance until the end of 2030.

In addition, a new order with the Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) has been received, for the Mataf area within the Holy Mosque. This area will be connected to the world’s largest automatic waste collection system supplied by MariMatic. The recently secured contracts in Saudi Arabia are worth 60 million euros ($69.9 million).

The key to MariMatic’s energy-efficient AWCS is the usage of smaller diameter pipes, often 300 mm diameter “composite piping,” instead of the commonly used 500 mm carbon steel piping systems in the Middle East. The usage of smaller diameter pipes not only reduces energy consumption but achieves a longer life cycle of the systems due to the absence of corrosion. Interruptions of possible blockages are minimized, as the waste easily fills up the pipe, giving higher vacuum force for conveying. Development of MariMatic’s formator technology enables use of larger waste bags (250 liter) in 400 mm size piping, instead of 600 mm piping used by other companies.

MariMatic’s patented Ring-Line configuration allows change of air flow direction, to facilitate removal of possible blockages.

Recently, MariMatic also won a contract to supply automatic waste collection systems for a new neighborhood in Amsterdam. The public tender focused on technology, reliability, performance, quality, and a technical life cycle of 60 years. MariMatic’s technology and solutions achieved maximum scores.

MariMatic develops and markets vacuum pipe conveying systems. Development of the products and solutions began in 1983 and since then, more than 1,000 systems have been delivered to over 40 countries.

The infrastructure phase of Masar comprises several key elements, including pedestrian underpasses and service tunnels 3,650 meters long and 320 meters wide over an area of 1.25 million square meters.

This will be complemented by a rapid transit bus network and the Makkah Metro as well as car parks and bridges, connecting the destination to the western entrance of Makkah. Seventy-one percent of the bridge work has been completed with construction progressing as planned.