An estimated 850 UK jobs will be created or secured at Chinook Sciences and its UK supply chain by recent new orders, significantly accelerated by winning a major infrastructure deal from the UAE.
Trade Minister Lord Livingston made the announcement today on a visit to the company's Nottingham headquarters.
The deal to build the world's largest advanced thermal energy-from-waste facility in the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates will be worth over £300 million. It was awarded by Bee'ah, the Middle East's leading environmental and waste management company after Chinook Sciences were introduced to the firm by UK Trade and Investment.
The deal is set to benefit Chinook's UK supplier base of 440 companies, which supply over 92 per cent of Chinook's technology and represent every region of the UK.
The Sharjah deal and other orders within Chinook's pipeline of projects are estimated to create 200 new UK jobs over the next two years, and secure a further 650. About half of these new jobs will be in the East Midlands.
It is the first major deal for a medium sized business since Lord Livingston announced a new programme of UKTI tailored export support for the 9,000 medium sized businesses in the UK. The Government's industrial strategy is giving business the confidence to invest, creating more high-skilled, long-term jobs in the UK.
Key suppliers expect their revenues to more than double over the next few years as a result of Chinook's projects, with a substantial addition of new jobs. This ongoing success is also supporting a number of apprenticeship programmes.
Trade & Investment Minister Lord Livingston said:
"Our medium-sized businesses have the potential to be economic powerhouses for the UK. Their success is dependant on expanding beyond domestic markets. Chinook Sciences is a great example of a company doing just that.
"UKTI is delighted to have helped deliver this deal. UAE's investment will enable Chinook to create new jobs across the UK."
Chinook has designed the entire facility and is co-ordinating the manufacture, shipping, installation, construction and commissioning of the plant. The deal will lead to the expansion of the Chinook's manufacturing, research and training facilities at Nottingham Energy Park in Bulwell.
Discussing the significance of the project, Dr Rifat Chalabi, Chinook Sciences' Group Chairman and CEO said:
"We are delighted to have been selected as Bee'ah's partner. The Sharjah Project is a major milestone for Chinook Sciences as it means we are now building the world’s largest household waste gasification plant in partnership with one of the most visionary companies in the sector. This is further validation of our market-leading technology and project delivery capability.
"We are very grateful to UK Export Finance which has helped us over a number of years. Lord Livingston's presence today continues UK Trade & Investment's support for this project that began when we were selected to be show-cased as a leading UK clean-tech company at its Green Technology Roadshow back in February 2013 where we first met Bee'ah."
Commenting on its approach to technology selection, Bee'ah's CEO, Khaled Al Huraimel, said:
"There are many technologies and many companies which have used incineration for years. Sharjah wants to be a leader in the environmental industry, so we went and looked for the latest technology. This technology is the greenest when it comes to waste-to-energy and we felt that this solution was right for Sharjah."
Ian Harrison, Regional Director for UKTI East Midlands said:
"This major contract win provides a tremendous opportunity for Chinook and confirms the company's place at the cutting edge of renewable technologies. It will expand Chinook's business enormously as well as showcasing the region and Nottingham as a centre of high tech expertise and is great news for our local economy.
"Moreover, it demonstrates that exporting is vital for growth. I would urge any business which wants to expand overseas to speak to someone from UKTI, to help maximise and develop business opportunities across the world. Chinook's success clearly demonstrates how rewarding this can be".
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