Veolia Wins Contract To Build Seawater Desalination Plant In Kuwait

(RTTNews) - Veolia Environnement (VE) said Monday that it has won a contract to build the seawater desalination plant at the Az Zour North complex in Kuwait for 320 million euros.

Under this Engineering, Purchasing and Construction contract won in partnership with Hyundai Heavy Industries, Veolia, through its subsidiary Sidem, will build a plant with a daily production capacity of 486,400 cubic meters of water.

The company noted that Hyundai will be responsible for building the 1,500-MW power station. All the electricity generated and the water produced will be purchased by the Kuwaiti government for 40 years. Work is scheduled for completion by the end of 2016. The Az Zour desalination plant will account for approximately 20% of Kuwait's installed capacity.

The construction of this desalination plant is part of the Az Zour North electricity generation and water production project located 100 kilometers south of the Kuwaiti capital. Awarded a year ago to the consortium of GDF Suez Energy International (France), Sumitomo Corporation (Japan) and Abdullah Hamad Al-Sager and Brothers (Kuwait). This project is part of the long-term plan to develop Kuwait's installed electricity generation and water production capacity.

In 2010, Veolia had already been selected to build the Az Zour South water desalination plant, for which it opted for reverse osmosis membrane technology. With a daily capacity of 136,000 cubic meters of water, this plant is currently in the start-up phase.