Waste-to-Energy in Ethiopia – an Evaluation of the Reppie Plant in Addis Ababa

The general waste management conditions, the performance and technical condition of he plant and the operational and organizational conditions, such as the qualifications of the operating personnel, were also considered.

by Jörn Franck and Jürgen von Kories

With a total population in Ethiopia of around 120 million people and a growth rate of 2.5 to 3 %, the volume of municipal solid waste is expected to increase accordingly. With an average volume of solid municipal waste of around 0.45 kg per capita per day, the daily volume of solid municipal waste in Addis Ababa amounts to around 2,500 to 3,000 tonnes or around 1 million tonnes per year, which has so far been deposited at the Koshe landfill without being sorted.

In 2012, a feasibility study was carried out for the construction of a thermal waste treatment plant as the basis for the first African waste incineration plant, which was built next to the Koshe landfill in 2014. The two-line plant was commissioned in May 2019 by the supplier, who initially supervised its operation before handing it over to the owner, Ethiopian Electrical Power (EEP), early due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

In the following years, the plant‘s capacity and performance steadily declined until one line was shut down due to permanent and severe damage. In addition, the remaining line showed low throughput in daily operation and a poor environmental balance. The lack of political and adequate financial support, effective coordination mechanisms and limited operator expertise exacerbated the situation and prevented the plant from being operated sustainably and safely in the long term.

In 2019, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) entered into a partnership with the Ethiopian government focussing amongst others on vocational training. Building on this, a triangular project was launched between Germany, China and Ethiopia. Part of the triangular cooperation is a technical assessment of the Reppie waste-to-energy plant in Addis Ababa.

In addition to the general waste management conditions, the performance and technical condition of the plant and the operational and organizational conditions, such as the qualifications of the operating personnel, were also considered. Finally, measures to restore the plant‘s performance for sustainable, safe plant operation were identified.

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published: Abfallwirtschaft und Energie, Band 2, 1|2025
Keywords: Energy Recovery, Resource management, Mixed Waste, Methods, Analyses, Data, China, Ethiopia, Germany