World’s largest water reservoir project signed by Hyder and Kahramaa
Qatar water authority and Hyder’s Sir Alan Thomas launch QAR 98million project
Infrastructure giant Hyder Consulting has signed contracts worth QAR 98million with Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation, Kahramaa, to design and construct the world’s largest network of clean water reservoirs.
The first phase of the project will see Hyder responsible for the design and construction of 31 reservoirs, individually measuring 200 metres in diameter and 12 metres deep, storing 73 million imperial gallons each. The project will require 200km of 2m diameter pipelines and five major pumping installations.
The concrete reservoirs will be spread over five kilometre square sites, and will have a combined capacity of 2200 million imperial gallons; enough for a seven day supply of clean water for Qatar.
Not only is the seven day reserve supply the largest in the GCC, each of the reservoirs is twice the size of the largest such structures ever built.
“I think this project is absolutely fundamental to the future of Qatar. At the moment there is some storage ability but not a large amount. This project is designed to give plenty of resilience to the system in the same way as in the UK you have natural reservoirs,” commented Neil Kemble, managing director MER utilities group, Hyder.
“The scale of this project is huge. It’s about water security and making sure a city with a current population of 1.7 million people isn’t suddenly devoid of water,” Kemble added.
By 2036, the project will be capable of supporting a national population of 3.4 million. Designs are due to be finalised within months, and tenders issued by Q4 2012. Construction is scheduled for completion within three years.
“We advised and pitched on some strong ideas, which we were encouraged to do, and we put in a winning bid. We did want to extend our presence in Qatar beyond road and rail transport, where we have been very active here, and property,” commented Hyder chairman Sir Alan Thomas.
In November last year, Hyder signed the largest contract in the firm’s history when it committed to an interconnected infrastructure network valued at $591 million with the public works authority, Ashghal. Covering all five zones of the Gulf state, that contract, which is also a record breaker for Qatar, will be delivered by 2019.
Although Hyder has had active water projects in Qatar for 50 years, this project signals the first directly awarded clean water project for the firm in the country. Previously, Hyder has successfully executed clean water projects such as this one in Bahrain, Kuwait and Europe.
Not only is the new Kahramaa project a global record breaker, it marks a milestone for Hyder, as the firm now offers all its operation’s services in Qatar.
“The mainstay of water has always been part of Hyder. This project is an important step and I think this is a very interesting contract because these reservoirs are going to be the biggest in the world and there are a large number of them. It’s a pretty exciting project for the water sector, with some unusual characteristics, not least of all scale, timetable, water supply and security,” Sir Thomas continued.
Kemble added: “I think that this proves if you put together an excellent proposal you can win work as an outsider in places like this, building on a strong reputation and track record.”
