Hyundai Rotem will construct the disposal facility in Al Khor, near Doha, which will treat up to 56,000 tons of wastewater a day. (image: Hyundai Rotem)
SEOUL, Dec. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – Hyundai Rotem, the South Korean train manufacturer, has won a contract to build a sewage disposal plant in Qatar. The company announced on December 4 that it won a contract worth 350 billion won (US$314 million) from Ashghal, the Public Works Authority of Qatar.
Under the terms of the deal, Hyundai Rotem will construct the disposal facility in Al Khor, near Doha, which will treat up to 56,000 tons of wastewater a day. The project is the largest ever sewage facility contract for a Korean firm in terms of value, and is scheduled to be completed in 2018.
In the bidding competition, 27 environmental plant manufacturers, including Marubeni of Japan and Degremont of France, were involved in fierce competition. Hyundai Rotem, together with Qatari water management company Aqualia-MACE, won the bid. Hyundai will be responsible for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC), and Aqualia-MACE will take charge of operations, maintenance and repair.
An official at Hyundai Rotem said, “We were selected for the project as the Qatari Public Works Authority recognized our business results in and out of Korea and our global procurement achievement.”
The company has won some 20 orders for sewage and water treatment facilities in Korea, and similar projects in countries like Vietnam, Oman and Bangladesh.
The Al Dhakira sewage facility will be constructed based on sequencing batch reactor (SBR) technology. The technology induces bio-oxidation by injecting air and microbes, and then settles the sludge by cutting the air supply. In this way, treated water can be used for irrigation in agriculture and for landscaping, and the sludge can be recycled into construction material and compost.
Qatar, which will host the World Cup in 2022, is spending vast amounts to improve its public infrastructure. The Al Dhakira project is a part of this nationwide infrastructure rebuilding effort.
The Hyundai official said, “By winning the contract, our competitiveness was recognized in the water treatment facility business. From now on, we will try to take on more orders from the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia in the sector.”
By John Choi (johnchoi@koreabizwire.com)
