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Work on sewage treatment plant ‘to be over by 2008’

The new STP, which will more than double the present treatment capacity in Dubai, will be located southeast of Jebel Ali on a municipality site which has a capacity for further future extensions to the plant as the city continues to grow.

A team from the civic body led by the Director of the Irrigation and Drainage Department, Talib Abdulkarim Julfar, participated in a workshop organised earlier this month by a specialist design consultant to evaluate design options for the scheme. Each option, which included mechanical and natural processes, was presented and evaluated in terms of both performance and total cost.

Evaluation categories determined as important by the municipality team included quality of treated effluent to ensure safe reuse; security of sludge recycling and disposal; odour control technologies, which will provide a no-nuisance standard; process reliability and flexibility; environmental impact of the works; and health and safety both during construction and operation.

At the workshop, it was determined that the conventional activated sludge process would be adopted as the main treatment process for the works supported by an incineration unit for sludge disposal. This combination will not only meet the required standards for effluent reuse, but will provide a secure and reliable means for disposal of sludge which is a serious consideration in view of the ever increasing volumes of sludge being produced as sewage flows continue to increase in the emirate.

Although sludge incineration is widely practised in Europe, Dubai will be the first Gulf state to employ this technology.

During 2005, detailed designs and tender documents for the STP will be completed.

The municipality plans to pre-qualify contractors for construction of the works which will be tendered before the end of the year.

• UAE