Slovenian engineering company Riko has built one of the biggest waste treatment centres in Croatia, Biljane Donje near the Dalmatian city of Zadar. The project, which was inaugurated on 14 March, is valued at €90 million, with Riko's share worth approximately €70 million.

The centre stretches over more than 46 hectares and will process about 90,000 tonnes of waste annually, its director Dino Perović told the Slovenian Press Agency.

This is just one of ten projects in Croatia that Riko is currently working on, but given its size it is "a confirmation of the quality of our work, which will create new opportunities down the line, both in Croatia and the broader region," Riko director Janez Škrabec said.

The biggest challenges were the size and complexity of the facility, according to Andrej Ivanc, Riko's head of environmental engineering.

"We had to acquire all the permits and build everything, from repositories for inert and non-hazardous waste to buildings for mechanical and biological treatment, a wastewater treatment plant, a facility for construction waste and all auxiliary buildings," he said.

The "heart of the facility" was technology for mechanical and biological treatment of municipal waste, which had to be designed, built and launched.

"The purpose of this technology is to reduce the environmental impact of waste to maximise the recyclable fractions, turn flammable waste into fuel, and stabilise the residual waste," he said.

The centre was inaugurated by Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković.

The inauguration of a waste treatment centre in Zadar, Croatia built by the Slovenian engineering company Riko. Photo: STA