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Project will provide 100,000 cubic metres of potable water per day and will begin operations in 2024
Metito, the global provider of water and alternative energy management solutions, has announced that its consortium with Orascom and Cobra has won the tender to build a seawater desalination plant in Sfax, Tunisia, further strengthening the group’s presence in North Africa.
A statement from Metito explained that the tender was raised by the Société Nationale d’Exploitation et de Distribution des Eaux (SONEDE), a public establishment of the Ministry of Agriculture Tunisia, to enhance water security in the country.
The project is fully funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Organization (JICA) and is set to begin operations in February 2024. Metito will carry out the design, procurement, and construction (EPC) of the project which is estimated to be complete within 30 months.
Once operational, the plant will provide an output of 100,000 cubic meters of potable water per day, with the possibility of doubling its capacity to 200,000 cubic meters per day.
Eng. Karim Madwar, Managing Director of Metito Africa, said: “Water is a key contributor to the socio-economic development, from industries, to families and farms. Water is also a scarce resource, and this is contributing to the surge in the global demand for seawater desalination. The new plant in Sfax will ensure that the local communities have access to a clean, secure, and sustainable water supply.”
In addition to the construction, which began in August 2021, the JV will also be responsible for operating and maintaining the project for two years after its completion. The new desalination plant will play a critical role in advancing the growing relationship between Egypt and Tunisia, especially in the field of water, the statement added.
The project is designed to consume the least amount of energy per cubic meter of water produced, which will positively impact the economics of operation and reduce the carbon footprint by employing advanced methods to recover energy from the brine (i.e., highly saline concentrated water), Metito explained, adding that the plant is in line with the group’s vision of promoting sustainable water management solutions and systems.
Through a complex chemical process, desalination is performed in a sustainable and safe manner as the water is treated with special chemicals to equalise the pH of the reject water to bring its salinity as close to normal seawater as possible. This protects marine life and the overall ecosystem at the water drainage area.
The Sfax desalination plant also accommodates environmentally friendly seawater pumping and wastewater discharging mechanisms. To raise water production efficiency and enhance its quality, water is pumped through desalination membranes that operate using the reverse osmosis (RO) system. It is then subjected to several stages of desalination mechanisms to output the highest possible quality of potable water that matches the recognised international standards, the statement concluded. |
