Tuesday 16 / April / 2024
Muscat: A Sewage Treatment Agreement (STA) for the development of the new wastewater treatment plant in Dammam was signed. The plant has a designed capacity of 350,000 cubic metres per day and an initial capacity of 200,000 cubic metres per day and will serve the western region of Dammam.
The project is the first independent sewage treatment plant project (ISTP) to be tendered to investors under a Build-Own- Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model and was awarded to the consortium led by the Metito Group and comprising the companies; “Metito”, “Mowah”, and “Orascom Construction”.
HE Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Chairman of the Water and Electricity Company, Chairman of the Supervisory Committee for Privatisation in the Environment, Water and Agriculture Sectors - Eng. Abdulrahman Al Fadley said that signing this agreement is an integral part of the plan set by the Ministry to tender similar projects to the investors in different regions across the Kingdom. This is in line with the Kingdom’s "Vision 2030" and the wider initiatives approved by the Cabinet of Ministers to further encourage private sector participation in economic development initiatives.
Al Fadley pointed out that the project aims to upgrade services, make them more sustainable and increase capital spending efficiency by making the best use of the private sector experience in the environment, water and agricultural sectors.
Turki Abdulaziz Al Hokail, CEO of National Center for Privatisation and PPP, elaborated on this point explaining how the centre contributes to supporting and enabling the privatisation programme in the Kingdom to develop and to efficiently operate public-private partnerships (PPP) projects. This initiative is the second privatisation initiative in the water sector signedin less than a month and the center is currently working closely with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, to complete other similar projects.
Khaled bin Zwaid Al Qureshi, Chief Executive Officer Water and Electricity Company, said: “The project will benefit the residents in West Dammam area with a designed capacity of 350,000 cubic metres per day, utilising the moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) technology”.
“The project is expected to begin operation in February 2022 and that deciding to develop the project under an STA is aimed at securing more benefits, making the project more sustainable and eco-friendly through the use of innovative technological solutions able to reduce odors and noiseand that will significantly cut electricity consumption,” he added.
Mutaz Ghandour, Metito Group Chairman and CEO said: “Major infrastructure developments are taking place in the Kingdom. The Dammam ISTP is a true landmark being the first of its kind to be developed under this progressive and visionary leadership and we are very proud that the Consortium led by Metito has been awarded a project of this size and importance in one of the most dynamic markets in the world and a key market for Metito.”
“We look forward to working with our partners to develop this project. We are confident that it will serve as a model for other similar projects in the Kingdom and further afield,” he added.
