Construction Authority for Potable Water & Wastewater (CAPW) has signed a contract worth around EGP 5.7 bn with Orasqualia to commence construction works at Abu Rawash Wastewater Treatment Plant in Egypt, Invest-Gate reports.

The contract was signed by CAPW Chairman Hassan El-Far, Orascom Construction Limited CEO Osama Bishai, and Aqualia Managing Director in Egypt Ignacio Rojo, in the presence of  Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Development Mostafa Madbouly.

The minister underlined that the plant is the second-largest sanitation station in Egypt after the Yellow Mountain station, based on a statement released by Housing Ministry on Tuesday, May 22.

“The project is set to solve Al-Rahawi drainage system’s problem, as well as, the pollution in Rashid’s branch,” Madbouly adds pointing to the state’s current approach to apply secondary and tertiary wastewater treatment.

To be finished within 36 months, the scope of work under the contract includes increasing the plant’s treatment capacity to 1.6 mn cubic meters per day, the minister is quoted in the statement as saying.

Orascom stated, in a statement issued on the same day, that the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract was awarded to Orasqualia in September 2017 for around USD 320 mn. In addition to the EPC scope, the Orasqualia will operate and maintain the facility for three years.

Once fully operational, the treatment facility will serve around 6 mn Egyptian citizens, the statement reveals.

CAPW is affiliated to the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development, while Orasqualia is a 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Egypt’s Orascom Construction and Spain’s wastewater management company Aqualia.