Egypt awards contract for world’s largest wastewater treatment plant project

The government of Egypt has awarded a contract for the design, supply, construction, operation, and maintenance of the El Hamam agricultural wastewater treatment plant.

The proposed project is set to be the largest waste water treatment in the world. Project contract was awarded to a joint venture made up of; Orascom Construction PLC, a leading global engineering and construction contractor primarily focused on infrastructure, industrial, and high-end commercial projects; Hassan Allam Construction, a division of Hassan Allam Holding-Egypt’s leading privately owned engineering, construction and infrastructure companies operating on a stand-alone basis.

The Arab Contractors (Osman Ahmed Osman & Co.), one of the leading construction companies in the Middle East and Africa; and Metito, a global leader and provider of choice for total intelligent water management solutions with operations covering three business areas namely design and build, specialty chemicals, and utilities, also make up the joint venture contracted to build the El Hamam agricultural wastewater plant.

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Egypt’s strategy

The project is part of the Egypt’s strategy to expand agricultural area, develop the West Delta region, and create new sustainable communities. The aim is to have a myriad of positive economic and social impacts in the North African country. The country is facing persistent water stress, which has led the government to impose restrictions on the use of irrigation water, particularly around the Nile.

The treatment will be capable of handling a capacity of 6 million cubic meters of water per day and irrigate up to 500,000 feddans of irrigation land west of the Nile Delta area. Its delivery capacity will be achieved by collecting and transporting agricultural drainage water from the north of the Nile Delta to the plant through a 120-kilometer-long course. It is estimated to cost US $739M and will be located in the coastal (Mediterranean) region of Al-Hamam.