Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/513849
PROJECTS May-June 2015 | Desalination & Water Reuse | 19 | "The signing of this memorandum is the first step towards RWL Water's investment in this, and similar projects, in the MENA region," said president and chief executive officer of RWL Water, Global Operations, Henry Charrabé. CaPE TOwn 450 Ml/d dESalinaTiOn PROJECT fEaSibiliTy STudy nEaRS finiSh Cape Town, South Africa, is nearing completion of its feasibility study for a 450 Ml/d desalination plant that could be built near Koeberg on South Africa's west coast within the next ten years at a cost of some R#14.9 billion (US$ 1.23 billion). The city has anticipated it will need to expand its bulk water resources. If approved, the desalination plant will be the largest in the country. It could contribute 22% of the city's water supply. City officials have emphasized that the plant was one of a number of options under consideration to deal with Cape Town's growing demand for water. Councillors in the utilities portfolio committee were reported to be concerned about the cost implications for users of desalination. Other options included direct potable reuse of wastewater and raising the walls of the Steenbras Dam. Paul Rhode, of the water and sanitation department said the plant would have a significant impact on residents' water tariffs with annual running costs at R 1.2 billion (US$ 100 million). Construction in the initial 150 Ml/d first phase of the plant would be R 9.2 billion (US$ 760 million). And it would cost an additional R 5.7 billion (US$ 470 million) to upscale the plant to 450 Ml/d before planning and design costs. City councillor, Matthew Kempthorne, said the Koeberg power station was scheduled to close by 2023 so the city could use its intake and outlet structures to shave R 3 billion (US$ 250 million) off the construction cost. Rhode said the proposed plant would reduce the city's reliance on surface water by more than 70% and improved technology would bring down its costs. He said the city would consider setting up a pilot plant in the next two years. Currently most of the city's water comes from surface water, and only 13% of its supply comes from within the municipal boundaries. nORwEgian dESalinaTiOn baRgE vEnTuRE SEEkS iSRaEli ExPERTiSE Norwegian company, EnviroNor, is proposing to convert secondhand oil barges into floating desalination and wastewater treatment plants and recruiting Israeli expertise to furnish the water-processing technology necessary for the ships. According to founder and chief executive officer of EnviroNor, Sigmund Larsen, floating treatment plants would be a cheaper way to purify water supplies, particularly in regions threatened by water scarcity and where land space for desalination plant was lacking. "It's cheaper to convert a ship to a desalination or wastewater treatment plant than to do it onshore," he said, noting that the planning process in most countries was significantly shorter for offshore infrastructure. He explained that the venture combines Norwegian maritime and oil and gas know how with Israeli proficiency in desalination and wastewater technologies. "Norway and Israel can collaborate more both on a political level and industrial level," said Larsen. He has met with Israel's national infrastructure, energy and water minister, Silvan Shalom, as well as representatives from the ministry; the water authority; the economy ministry; national water corporation, Mekorot; and other water companies. The ships, he said, can hold facilities, capable of purifying wastewater at up to 500 Ml/d. The company was near to closing an agreement with Mozambique on a pilot site for the first of the wastewater treatment barges, Larsen said. He estimated that the first barge would be up and running by the end of 2017. While the floating facilities required energy to operate, 25-40% of the activity of the wastewater treatment plants can be driven by biogas collected from the wastewater purification process itself, Larsen explained. The EnviroNor project has been listed by Norwegian environmental infrastructure classification society DNV GL as an "extraordinary innovation project," and is receiving support from the Norwegian government. QaTaR TO SET uP uS$ 500 MilliOn REvERSE OSMOSiS dESalinaTiOn PlanT Qatar Utility, Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) is set to establish a US$ 500 million, reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant that will produce freshwater at 136 Ml/d. Kahramaa signed an agreement with Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) to develop the Ras Abu Fontas A3 project under an independent water project model. It will be the first large-scale, reverse osmosis desalination plant in the country. It is scheduled to begin operation in the third quarter of 2016. Japan's industrial conglomerate, Mitsubishi Corporation, will be responsible for preparing the design, importing equipment and establishment of the plant. The Qatari utility had invited independent companies in the country to come up with proposals to boost water production. It judged the proposal presented by QEWC as the most effective in terms of cost and technical means, and both sides agreed to set up the plant, said the report. Under the deal, Kahramaa will sign a strategic pact with QEWC for purchase of potable water from the company for 25 years. MOTT MaCdOnald TO adviSE lEndER in MOROCCan dESalinaTiOn PROJECT Banque Marocaine du Commerce Extérieur has appointed consultant, Mott Macdonald, as technical advisor in support of the bank's role as financer for a MAD 937 million (US$ 94.6 million) desalination project in Morocco. The project is a public-private partnership for the finance, design, construction, operation and maintenance of a 100,000 m³/d reverse osmosis facility on Morocco's seaboard between Agadir and Essaouira. It will upgrade infrastructure that currently supplies potable water to Agadir, Inezgane and Aït Melloul. Construction is scheduled for completion by the end of 2016. Morocco's Office National de Electricité et de l'Eau Potable has launched the project, which is being developed by a special purpose vehicle, SEDA, made up of a joint venture of Abengoa and Moroccan investment fund, InfraMaroc (see page 11). Mott MacDonald will monitor the design and construction of the plant and analyse potential risks for the lender. Other responsibilities will include reviewing administrative procedures, the development of studies, works progress and the handover process.