Al Ghubra temporary water station starts commercial operation

Business Wednesday 17/January/2024 15:38 PM
By: Times News Service
Al Ghubra temporary water station starts commercial operation

Muscat: Nama Water Services announced the commercial launch of the Al Ghubra temporary station. The newly launched station can process up to 20,000 cubic metres per day.

The project aims to guarantee the continuity of water supply to citizens and resident subscribers.

Eng. Abdullah Mohammed Al Naimi, Chief Operation & Maintenance Officer at Nama Water Services, said: “The launch of the Al Ghubra temporary station is intended to support the existing station, cover the current increasing water needs in Muscat Governorate during peak water demand, and meet water needs.”

“This is in line with the company's commitment to ensuring water security by strengthening the existing station to meet the water needs in the region and keep pace with urban expansion in terms of residential, commercial, or government facilities,” added Al Naimi.

Highlighting the phases of the commercial operations, Eng. Abdullah Al Naimi noted: “The commercial operation of the Al Ghubra temporary station will continue for five years until the completion of the construction of the Al Ghubra station (3), which is still in the early stages of construction. It is an independent station from the Al Ghubra Station (2). The expansion of Oman's water infrastructure network underscores the government's commitment to long-term water security and its role as a critical driver of urban and economic prosperity.”

Al Naimi reiterated Nama Water Services' commitment to the smooth delivery of water services to all subscribers, ensuring that they receive a continuous, reliable, and sustainable water supply.

Nama Water Services is moving forward in achieving its strategic objectives and contributing to sustainable development based on sound scientific and methodological foundations and in line with the priorities of the Oman 2040 vision.

The company's strategic plan (2023-2027) envisions a set of future objectives that ensure the availability of safe drinking water and sanitation services at the best economical cost. The objectives are aimed at attaining the optimal utilisation of water resources while concurrently safeguarding them from depletion and pollution, in line with the needs and rights of current and future generations.

The company is committed to providing water to its subscribers and working to align production capacity with the anticipated demand from the beneficiaries of its services. It also seeks to make its overall system flexible to ensure the continuity of water supply.

Mohammed Al Hinai, Director of Al Ghubrah temporary station, stressed the operational readiness of the station according to the planned capacity of 20,000 cubic meters per day. He highlighted that the station serves as a backup for the existing station and ensures that sufficient water is available to residents in the area.

“The station operates using reverse osmosis, a system used in many countries around the world. The mechanism of this technique is summarised as transferring water from the highest concentrated solution to the lowest concentrated solution through a semi-permeable membrane by pressure to purify the water by passing it through a number of stages in which water is separated from other salts and minerals.” Al Hinai explained.

Nama Water provides its services to more than 4 million people through the distribution of water, collection of wastewater, transportation, treatment, disposal, and supply of treated water. Its total subscriber base exceeds 896,000 subscribers for both water and wastewater networks.

The company is achieving a steady increase in water production to keep pace with population growth and increasing demand for water. In 2022, more than 444 million cubic meters of drinking water were produced, an increase of more than 4%. The company primarily relies on desalinated seawater to provide drinking water and reduce reliance on groundwater, aligning with the government stipulations in this context.