The consortium of Development and Housing Company for Utilities (DHCU) and Acciona, a Spanish multinational conglomerate, signs an 8-year contract for the management, operation, and maintenance of the first phase of Al Gabal Al Asfar Wastewater Treatment plant with total investments of EGP 1.71 bn, Invest-Gate reports.

Hassan El-Far, Chairman of DHCU, says that the contract includes three stages, the first of which comprises management, operation, and maintenance of the project’s first phase, which has the capacity to treat 1.5 mn cubic meters of wastewater daily.

The second stage of the contract includes the rehabilitation of aged equipment and the third stage comprises studying ways to develop the plant using up-to-date technologies.

El-Far notes that the plant is the first in the Middle East to include three sub-plants, adding the first phase of the project serves over eight mn citizens in Cairo.

He says that the plant aims to produce 50% of its electricity needs, contributing indirectly to the rationalization of power consumption to create a surplus that can be used in other districts in Cairo.

The top executive unveils that Al Gabal Al Asfar Wastewater Treatment plant has multiple uses, including secondary treatment of wastewater to be used in cultivation of a 300-feddan farm of citrus, olive, fruits, and woody plants.

The plant also transforms sewage sludge into organic fertilizers, El-Far elaborates.