Egypt built Al Mahsamma plant to be the largest of its kind in the world
President AbdelFattah El Sisi has officially inaugurated Al Mahsamma agricultural drainage treatment, recycling and reuse plant in Ismailia Governorate. The project has a capacity of 1 million cubic m3/day and is built over an area of 42,000 square meters. Al Mahsamma is considered the largest plant of its kind in the world.
The USD100 million has been developed by the JV comprised of Metito, the multinational global provider of intelligent water management and alternative energy solutions, and Hassan Allam Construction, Egypt’s leading engineering, construction and infrastructure company, under the supervision of the Armed Forces Engineering Authority. The JV scope of work for this flagship project includes the engineering, construction, operations (EC&O), commissioning and O&M for a period of five years.
Al Mahsama forms part of Egypt’s progressive and multi-pronged approach to ensuring the country’s water security through wastewater treatment, desalination, and the preservation of natural water resources. The plant’s daily capacity will contribute to the preservation of the natural ecology of the Al Temsah Lake, located west of the Suez Canal, which has been impacted by wastewater disposal.
Commenting on the official inauguration of Al Mahsamma plant, Eng. Karim Madwar, Metito Africa Managing Director, said; “Metito is honored to play its part in this world-class mega national project located in the highly strategic east of the Suez Canal area. This is in line with the Egyptian government's progressive strategy pertaining to water security.
Madwar highlighted that the latest technologies were utilized in the project for the treatment of agricultural drainage water to produce suitable water for irrigation and land reclamation and per the highest quality standard and specs set by the Egyptian Government. He also confirmed Metito’s commitment to utilize state-of-the-art technology and systems across its projects and in the various stages of water treatment, coupled with the integration of advanced digital and information technology. The latter is to monitor the effectiveness of operations and to ensure the quality of water remains compliant with standard and client specifications. Madwar further explained that all Metito project sites are equipped with laboratories for on-site water analysis and quality testing round the clock by dedicated experts.
“We are extremely proud to have been selected to contribute to the development of a project of such strategic importance, which we were able to complete in a record ten months, amounting to 2.5 million man hours with no injuries or time lost, a testament to the state’s confidence in our capabilities,” said Hassan Allam, Chairman of Hassan Allam Construction. “Al Mahsama plant will contribute to combatting water scarcity and will have a resounding impact on Egypt’s water security agenda and transform the scope of wastewater treatment across Africa.” He added, “We are extending our efforts to provide the latest solutions that help solving the water poverty, one of the major regional and global concerns.”
The plant will contribute to the irrigation of 70,000 acres of land in the Sinai, as part of the government’s efforts to develop the region by creating sustainable urban communities and job opportunities in the area. The water is transferred to the plant from Ismailia irrigation drainage canal, located west of Suez Canal, through two individual pump stations crossing underneath the Suez Canal into Srabuim siphon, from which the water is further pumped through the plant’s pump station using 8 vertical turbine type pumps - six working pumps and two on standby - with each pumping at a speed of 7000m3/hr.
Al Mahsama project was named “Infrastructure Project of the Year" at Dubai's 2019 Construction Innovation Awards and has been shortlisted for the Wastewater Project of the Year award at the Global Water Awards, with results set to be announced at the Global Water Summit in Spain at a future date.
