The Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC), a wholly- owned subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (PIF), said Monday it has completed all procedures to acquire a 100 percent stake in Global Environmental Management Services (GEMS) from Jadwa Waste Management Opportunities Fund, which is managed by Jadwa Investment. The Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC) and Jadwa Investment celebrated the success of the completed acquisition between SIRC and GEMS. The event was attended by Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadley, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of (SIRC); and Adib Alzamil, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Jadwa Investment Company; Tariq Al-Sudairy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Jadwa Investment; Eng. Jeroen Vincent, Chief Executive Officer of SIRC. Following its acquisition of GEMS, SIRC aims to meet the national recycling target of 85 percent for the industrial and hazardous waste in Saudi Arabia and landfilling the remaining 15 percent by 2035. The completion of the acquisition marks the latest milestone in SIRC's mission to pioneer solutions that support the recovery of resources through recycling and reduce diversion of waste to landfills, in line with the objectives of Vision 2030 program. Currently, Saudi Arabia recycles around 10 percent of the 50 million tons of total recyclable waste it produces, with 90 percent diverted to landfills, according to preliminary studies by the PIF. Eng. Jeroen Vincent, Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Investment Recycling Company (SIRC), said that the deal will allow SIRC to become the biggest player in the GCC's industrial and hazardous waste management sector as well as provide a platform to further develop capacity and state-of-the-art technologies to treat hazardous waste in an environmentally-friendly way. He emphasized that the acquisition represents a major development for SIRC and will establish our strong presence in the industrial waste sector while maintaining and expanding GEMS operations. "SIRC intends to fully integrate industrial and medical waste treatment into its value chain operations, particularly in the mining, minerals, manufacturing and industrial segment, in order to reuse and recover resources," Eng. Jeroen Vincent added. He added: "We will expand our current capacity to cater for 88% recycling and operations of GEMS facilities and unlock the potential for a new market for raw materials recycled from mining and medical waste". Tariq Al-Sudairy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Jadwa Investment, commented: "We are pleased with the successful completion of this landmark transaction. We are proud to have played a role in the development and growth of GEMS' business scope and geographic reach over the last five years, and wish the company continued success under the leadership of SIRC." At present, GEMS operates four facilities in Yanbu, Rabigh, Johfa and Dammam. The fifth plant, under construction in Jubail, is expected to begin operations this year. Preparations for the sixth facility in Jizan have started. Established by the Public Investment Fund in 2017, SIRC plans to develop, own, operate and invest in various activities across all waste types in the Kingdom. Furthermore, SIRC activities will contribute an estimated SR 7 billion ($10 billion) to the GDP, attracting up to SR6 billion ($1.6 billion) in inward investment and creating around 23,000 new jobs by 2030. GEMS is a leading industrial waste management company in Saudi Arabia, providing hazardous waste management, industrial and engineering services to oil, petrochemical and industrial corporations. It also has a strong and experienced management team, complemented by access to in-house science and engineering centers in the UAE and India. — SG
