Middle East/Africa

May 1, 2013
Collection of water and wastewater new headlines from the Middle East/Africa

Casablanca membrane wastewater reuse plant first in North Africa

The Médiouna wastewater treatment plant inaugurated in the Greater Casablanca region of Morocco will treat wastewater from 40,000 people to be reused for agricultural irrigation.

Operated by Lydec, a subsidiary of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT, the company said it is the first wastewater treatment plant in Morocco and in North Africa to use a membrane filtration process.

The technology will be used to reuse treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation with the aim to help protect the city of Oued Hassar from wastewater discharge from the Médiouna and conserve water resources.

The Médiouna plant is part of a wider investment program in the Greater Casablanca Region, designed to protect the environment from wastewater discharge, conserve water resources and provide inhabitants with a better quality of life, in particular high quality bathing water.

His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, inaugurated the Médiouna wastewater treatment plant in the presence of François Hollande, President of the French Republic, Gérard Mestrallet, chairman and CEO of GDF SUEZ, and Jean-Louis Chaussade, chief executive officer of SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT.

Dubai opens UAE's largest desal plant

Dubai's Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has opened its 'M Station' in Jebel Ali that has a generation capacity of 2,060 MW and can produce 140 million imperial gallons (MIG) of desalinated water per day.

Said to be the largest of its kind in the UAE, the US$2.7 billion facility was officially opened by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance, and President of DEWA.

The site includes eight multi-stage flash (MSF) units each producing 17.5 MIG per day. It also has six F-class gas turbines, each generating 234 MW and three steam turbines, generating 218 MW each.

DEWA CEO and MD, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, reportedly said that DEWA now has enough water and electricity reserves to last until 2020.

M Station was built in partnership with numerous project consultants and contractors, including Fisia, Siemens, Doosan and Alstom.

Al Tayer said: "We are now able to achieve a total production of 9,646 MW of electricity, and 470 million gallons of desalinated water per day, to meet the current and future needs of the Emirate of Dubai, including planned expansion to further drive our urban prosperity and economic advancement."

Industrial waste contract- Saudi Arabia's NWC

Saudi Arabia's National Water Company has signed a 100 million riyal contract (USD$27 million) to treat 5000 m3/day of industrial water from Jeddah-based Middle East Paper co (MEP).

The 20-year contract will see MEP connecting its facility to the National Water Company's industrial wastewater treatment plant in Jeddah for treatment.

National Water Company CEO Dr. Luay Al-Musallam emphasized the importance of wastewater reuse and said that "the use of treated water is the perfect choice for industrial, commercial and agricultural sector".

He said it is cheaper than desalinated water that is intended for drinking and can "help to maintain a strategic reserve of groundwater, as well as protecting the environment".

The agreement was signed by the National Water Company's Dr. Luay Al-Musallam and vice chairman of the Board of Directors of MEP co. Mr. Emad Al-Muhaidib, at the headquarters of NWC in Jeddah in the presence of senior executive of the two companies.

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