July’s top stories: FCC to sell SmVak share, Pentair’s nanofiltration technology

Sembcorp begins UAE Fujairah 1 seawater desalination plant expansion

Sembcorp Industries is expanding its Fujairah 1 independent water and power plant (IWPP) in the UAE, to increase seawater desalination capacity by 30 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD).

The $200m project will use reverse osmosis and multistage flash technology to increase the plant’s total seawater desalination capacity from 100MIGD to 130MIGD.

The additional reverse osmosis desalination capacity will make the Fujairah 1 IWPP the largest reverse osmosis desalination facility in the Middle East.

FCC to sell interest in water company to Mitsui in Czech Republic

Spanish infrastructure and environmental services group Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) has agreed to sell a 49% equity in its Czech water company SmVak to Mitsui for €97m.

Mitsui will acquire the interest in Aqualia Czech, the holding company of SmVaK, and participate in the operation and management of SmVaK and water business in the Czech Republic.

FCC said SmVak, which is the fourth-largest water company in the country, has a full-cycle water concession for production and distribution of drinking water, discharge and treatment of wastewater and bulk water supply, including operation, maintenance, capital investment and billing and collection.

Veolia Water to construct desalination plant at Sadara petrochemical complex

Saudi water and electricity operator Marafiq has awarded Veolia Water a contract to design, build and operate a desalination plant at the Sadara petrochemical complex in Jubail industrial city.

The new plant will have a capacity of 178,000m³ per day and will supply the Sadara petrochemical complex, which has been jointly built by Dow Chemical and Saudi Aramco.

Veolia Water will generate $310m in revenue to design and build the plant and $92m to operate it for ten years.

The company then has an option to extend the contract for an additional 20 years.

Foz signs treatment technology agreement with Royal HaskoningDHV

Foz has signed a cooperation agreement with Royal HaskoningDHV for the implementation of its Nereda advanced wastewater technology in Brazil.

Under the agreement, Foz and the Brazilian water company of Odebrecht Ambiental will use Royal’s advanced technology to treat wastewater in the country.

The agreement is expected to be worth more than €11.5m in value.

Thames Water shortens procurement process for £3bn infrastructure upgrades

Procurement specialist JCP has helped UK-based water utility Thames Water achieve a reduction of more than 75% in the procurement time for its approximately £3bn water infrastructure improvement contract.

Thames Water has reduced the procurement process from 18 months to four, to upgrade deteriorating water infrastructure in the country, a project which is expected to take around 12 years to complete.

JCP oversaw a shift in focus from a competitive approach to a more collaborative and supportive environment with Thames Water partners across the supply chain.

The water utility avoided the need for a lengthy costly bid process to secure industry experts for the refurbishment programme.

Pentair develops nanofiltration wastewater treatment technology

Sustainable water solutions provider Pentair has developed new hollow-fibre nanofiltration technology to address the growing demand for safe drinking water and water reuse.

Pentair claims its X-Flow colour removal package (CRP) simplifies the drinking water filtration process and offers industries a new alternative for wastewater treatment.

The CRP’s hollow fibre membrane delivers several advantages compared to current technologies, including a 99.999% reduction in bacteria and viruses.

SAWS to undertake $1.1bn sewer systems upgrade

The US drinking water and sewage utility San Antonio Water System (SAWS) has agreed to spend $1.1bn on upgrades in order to reduce overflows from its sewer system. It will also pay a $2.6m penalty to resolve Clean Water Act (CWA) violations.

Raw sewage, alongside other pollutants from the overflow of wastewater systems, pose a risk to water quality when released into local waterways. They also lead to disease outbreaks and closure of beaches.

Overflows are caused by system capacity issues that result in the sewer system being overwhelmed by rainfall.

This results in the discharge of storm water and untreated sewage into local waterways.

World Bank to support wastewater treatment plant upgrade in Jordan

The World Bank’s political risk insurance arm, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), has announced its backing for a wastewater treatment plant in Jordan, in a bid to address the country’s water deficit.

The agency is insuring the existing wastewater treatment plant, as well as its expansion at As Samra, northeast of Amman.

This will provide a source of treated wastewater suitable for irrigation.

The expansion is expected to increase the water treatment capacity of the plant by 37% and the sludge treatment capacity by around 80%. It includes adding two more treatment lines to the existing four and is set to be completed by the end of June 2015.