Canada
Consultancy Scottish Water International has started a third Canadian assignment in British Columbia. The consultancy is undertaking a Water Operations Review for Capital Regional District’s Integrated Water Services Department. The review will see the team recommend improvements in efficiency and effectiveness. It follows similar reviews where Scottish Water delivered 50 recommendations for the Water Services and Water Resources units in the City of Calgary, which were estimated together to save a cumulative CAD$19 to $25m (£10.4m to £13.7m).
US: California
Researchers from the University of California-Berkeley have constructed a desalination centrifuge decorated with a nanoscale porous membrane that they claim can be easily scaled up. In this latest effort, researchers have designed the nanoscale porous membrane patches as part of the multiscale pore structure on the centrifuge. This, they claim, will enable the development to be “readily fabricated for industrial scale desalination operation”.
Chile
Mining giant BHP Billiton has inaugurated another desalination plant at its Escondida mine in Chile in a bid to wean itself off freshwater. Costing US$3,430 million, the development will provide 215,000 m3/day of desalinated water for mining activities in a bid to eventually reduce the site’s dependent on aquifers. The development is in addition to the company’s larger desalination plant, at nearly twice the capacity, which has been in operation for 12 years.
Israel
A second desalination plant could be built in Sorek to help the country boost its water resources amid a five-year drought. A pre-qualification tender has been launched to plan, finance, construct and operate a 150,000 m3/day desalination plant, according to Globes. If this comes to fruition, it would be the second desalination plant to be located in Sorek, following IDE Technologies development, which has the capacity to provide 624,000 m3/day.
UK
An online trading platform that makes it easier to sell and buy organic resources has been launched in the UK. Called BioTrading, the website platform has been designed by Veolia to provide businesses the opportunity to better leverage the 100 million tonnes of raw materials and biofuels produced every year in the UK. The first of its kind, the website will be a sales and auction marketplace that connects buyers to the rest of the value chain, the company said.
Switzerland
Smart water companies Gutermann and TaKaDu are teaming up to combine their efforts into a ‘belt and braces’ solution to detect and reduce water losses. Israeli company TaKaDu’s event management platform is being integrated with Swiss firm Gutermann’s fixed network acoustic leak detection technology. To date, the combined solution has been deployed at utility Mei Carmel in Haifa, Israel which is “showing excellent results”.
The Philippines
Utility Manila Water is looking to significantly increase capital spending between 2018-2027. The investment will focus on developing water and wastewater infrastructure with the aim of improving services and creating more sustainable living conditions for the people of eastern Metropolitan Manila. Black & Veatch, in consortium with local consultant DCCD Engineering, has been selected as one of two consultant teams under a five-year Consultancy Services Framework Agreement to assist Manila Water in more efficient delivery of multiple projects.
Iran
Singapore firm Hyflux is expanding its Middle East presence after winning a contract to supply a 200,000 m3/day desalination plant in Iran. Awarded by Asia Water Development Engineering Company to subsidiary, Hyflux International, the project involves the design, manufacture and supply of a seawater reverse osmosis desalination package in Bandar Abbas, Iran. Valued at approximately €68.7 million, the development will form one out of five desalination plants.
Egypt
A $15.6 billion redevelopment project of Egypt’s Sinai peninsula could include four new desalination plants and a wastewater network, according to Haaretz. The source quoted presidential aide Ibrahim Mehleb, who described the scheme as a “project for national security” that could be completed by 2022. Compared to the region’s southern coast, which houses Red Sea tourist resorts, the north of the peninsular has been described as lacking basic infrastructure.
India
The Japan International Cooperation Agency signed an agreement to provide a $283 million loan for the construction of Chennai’s fourth seawater desalination plant. The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board will help to execute the 400,000 m3/day project. The project will help bridge water supply and demand in the area: in 2015, water demand in the CMA was over 850,000 m3/day, while average water supply was around 620 m3/day.
