Wastewater Treatment Plant in Algeria
Everyone knows how important it is to have access to clean water, but that need becomes even more important in an arid climate like that if Algeria. The country has long struggled to maintain adequate standards of water purification for its general population and this has often proved to be troublesome. Fortunately this is about to change with Keppel Seghers having just been hired to build a wastewater treatment plant in Algeria.
As the environmental technology division of Keppel Integrated Engineering (KIE), Keppel Seghers is the ideal choice for such a massive undertaking. Not only will the company be contracted to build the plant, but also to design and operate it. They have secured a US $4.75 million contract which was awarded by the National Environment Organization of Algeria (ONA). The new wastewater treatment plant will be built in Laghouat province in Algeria and it will be manned by Keppel Seghers for two years. The plant is slated for completion by the end of 2008 and it is expected to treat approximately 26,700 cubic meters of wastewater every day. The plant will go a long way to solving water shortages and providing the public with clean water. Fortunately, this is the fifth such project that Keppel Seghers has secured in the country.
The proposed wastewater plants will not just focus on the treatment of water, but also provide water for irrigation. The plants will feature wastewater pre-treatment units, a disinfection unit, a settling unit and an activated sludge unit. Such functions are certainly necessary, but as of yet it would seem that the Algerian government is still a long way from adequately meeting the needs of its people.
The current annual water need in Algeria is more than 15-20 billion cubic meters, but current water sources only put out approximately 5 billion cubic meters per a year. In addition, the current rapid growth of the country’s population and economic activities means that Algeria is likely to see this current output grow by 1.2 billion cubic meters every year by 2020. The government has recognized the shortage and is working hard to curb the shortage. It has currently engaged a five-year plan to build new plants – of which the new contract with Keppel Seghers is a part – and it also aims to upgrade existing plants. Hopefully all improvements will have been completed by 2015 and the current water shortages will be well on their way to being mitigated.
