Water esources sponsored research and demonstration projects. These new techniques, usually Strategic concerns speed employed in plastic hothouses, are fast transforming the landscape of the J ordan valley. search for new answers Causing some controversy among Mus­ lims is growing interest in the use of treat­ MO RE money has been spent on de­ provides a prime example of how policies ed sewage e~fluent both for irrigation and salination plants in the Middle East than are shifting, having halved the desalina­ for recharging aquifers. To date, irriga­ in any other part of the world, a reflec­ tion capacity of the proposed Zuwetina tion with treated sewage has largely been tion of the region's dire shortage of water. power and water scheme earlier this year. restricted in the Middle East to grass Iraq, with the Tigris and Euphrates rivers The surprise move is probably linked with verges along roads in some major cities. flowing through its territory, is one of the the government's decision to embark on a However, O man is now boosting its few Arab countries which have more 1,900-k ilometre pipeline scheme to bring aquifer reserves by recharging with water than they need. Egypt, by con­ groundwater from the Sahara to coastal sewage effluent from surface reservoirs. trast, relies almost wholly on Lake areas . There is no danger of polluting existing Nasser, the artificial reservoir created by Elsewhere in the Middle East, more groundwater, scientists say, because the the Aswan High Dam, and Syria is attention is being devoted to trad itional desert sands act as a huge treatment plant. similarly dependent on a single dam re ­ methods of water conservation such as Several Middle East l countries are taining the waters of the Euphrates. dam construction. Damming of seasonal carrying out pioneering work in app lying But even these two countries are fortu­ rivers has become a major programme in treated sewage to trees and to food crops nate compared with those on the Arabian Saudi Arabia, for example. which need cooking before being eaten. peninsula. Natural water resources there The region is also developing as an Pilot projects are making good progress in are restrictecl to seasonal rivers, rarely agricultural test bed for the newest water Jordan, where the government is pushing controlled by dams, and rapidly diminish­ conserving technologies, from hydro­ ahead with construction work t o take ing groundwater reserves suffering ponics - soil -less farming - to modern effluent 4 0 kilometres by pipeline from encroachment from saline seepage. In methods of irrigation. The long-term aim Amman to large stabilisation ponds in the some areas of the UAE, water tables are is to ease the conflicting water demands desert. Farmers will tap the ponds as a falling by up to three metres a year. between farmers and urban populations. new source of irrigation water for care­ Concern over shortages was intensified J ordanian farmers are adopting drip fully selected crops. last year when a single event brought and sprinkler irrigation methods on a very In Oatar, an experimental project has home to Gulf states the vulnerability of large scale, encouraged by government- been set up incorporating the newly de- IJ> their sophisticated desalters. Iraqi bomb­ ing of oil platforms off the Iranian coast Posed a threat to the fragile ecology of the shallow Arabian Gu If. and also to the area's desalination plants. It takes only a trace of oil to heat up a Pla nt's exchangers and interfere w ith the desalination process, and according to US est imates, up to 12,000 barrels of oil a day were leaking into the Gulf from the blazing Nowruz platforms. Booms, mesh sc reens and fi lters were hurriedly erected around the coast's desalination plants. Wa er soared in price, reaching g 70 a oarrel in Oatar and brought back down to S30 only after government interven­ tion. Had the prevailing winds abated, sea currents would have brought more oil to he coast, overwhelming the emergency defences. This narrowly averted crisis combin­ ed with growing concern over the cost of desalination, has reinforced the efforts of governments throughout the region to find al ternat ive sources of supply. Libya OJ Cen 28 MlFD l OAUGlJST 1984 z

~:0 ~ m ------~ veloped technique of growing crops on self, where experimental wor k is under last-resor t con t ingency, feasibility wo r sand using seawater, and in Egypt re­ way on a sol ar-powered d esal ter at has been carried out for a sch eme to pipe search has uncovered an Iranian melon Yanbu. 160 mill ion cubic metres a year of Wate which can be grown using the brackish Beyond the peninsula, polit ical con ­ from the Euphrates in Iraq ac ross rock water found in aquifers there. All these flicts frequently make exploitation of desert into northern Jordan. The 65(). efforts could pay off in the long term by water resources much more than a simple k ilometre pipeline is priced at more tha n cutting back on agricultural water con­ engineering exercise . Egypt, for example , $ 1,000 million. sumption, but in the meantime there is is already using the limit of its legal share Jordan is also involved in two long also an urgent need for improved of Nile waters under the 1959 Nile Waters running disputes with Israel. The first planning. Agreement with Sudan . Agricultural plans concerns Israel's proposals for channell ing Respons ibility for water supply tends are being restrained until the Nile flows Mediterranean waters into the Dead Se a to "be spread across several ministries, and are increased, following eventual comple­ - the "Med-Dead" scheme. Accord ing to contradictory policies are frequently tion of Sudan's Jonglei Canal. Jordan, valuable irrigated land will be pu pursued. In Oa tar, groundwater has had The Iran/Iraq war has inevitably at risk, as well as the Dead Sea potas to be diverted from agriculture to be affected progress of Iraq's S 1,500 million project. The second argument is ove r mixed with desalinated water for urban Mosul dam, and of plans for the long­ Israel's use of water from the Ya rmouk supplies. Yet uncontrolled consumption proposed Bekme dam, which is valued at with Jorda nian officials becoming part i: in the capital, including extravagant use around $3,000 mill ion. cularly vociferous during the recent of water for garden spraying, results in re­ Jordan, meanwhile, has had to com­ winter drought. gular winter flooding. Similarly , the pletely rewrite its water programme dur­ Several external solutions to Middle d is astrous lowering of groundwater levels ing the past 18 months due to its East water problems have been proposed in the UAE is largely the result of uncon­ seemingly intractable political problems during recent years, including grandiose trolled drilling by farmers. The position over the Maqarin dam, which would plans for towing iceberqs from polar re · in the emirates should improve now that have straddled the border with Syria. For gions and inflating rubber mountains the Central High Water Authority has decades, this project has been the centre­ along the Gulf coastline to encourage been created to oversee all water piece of Jordan's development plans, but cloud formation. The latest suggestion, exploitation. the government now regards it as a non­ and one that has already been implement· But whatever efforts are made to im­ starter. Before work could begin, agree­ ed on a modest scale, is for countries with prove management and optimise use of ment on water rights would be needed an abundance of water to ship their sur­ existing resources, most peninsular count­ with Syria and Israel, and the chances of plus supplies to the Gu If and North ries are resigned to long-term dependence reaching an accord now appear remote . Africa. on desal in ation _ Reverse-osmos is (RO) As a result, the existing King Talal F ranee is hoping to follow up its suc· technology, so far confined to small dam is being heightened. So too is the cess in shipping water to Spain last yea r plants, has advanced rapidly in recent Wadi Arab dam in northern Jordan, by finding new markets in the Maghreb. years and is potentially a serious rival to which is still under construction_ As a Tankers would simply shuttle back and the multi -stage flash (MSF) process that Najran dam , Saudi Arabia, wh ere a major forth between Mediterranean ports carry· has had a monopoly of the larger sea­ programme is under way to regulate seasonal ing around 83,000 cubic metres of water water desalinat ion complexes. Increased per trip. Japanese companies, like Mitsu i. use of RO could offer substantial cost are looking at the potentially lucrat ive savings. market in the Gulf. So too are UK in­ The biggest chance yet for RO to prove terests. The Welsh Water Author ity, with itself against MSF was the competition its large dam storage schemes, and th e earlier in 1984 for the 45,000-cubic­ N orthumbrian Water Authority, with th e metre-a-day AI-Dur plant in Bahrain . The vast but largely untapped Kielder plant is a gift to the island from King Fahd reservoir, are keen to cash in on interna· of Saudi Arabia, and the contract is tiona! water trade . But in their case water being handled by the Saudi Saline Water would be shipped as ballast in oil tankers Conversion Corporation (SWCC). return ing to the Gulf - so-called "back ­ When bids were opened in March, RO haul" t rade. contractor Weir Westgarth of the UK , and Sh ipped water is claimed to be com­ its partners Daewoo C.:>rporat ion and petitive on cost with desalination, and Daewoo Sh ipbuilding, both of South could be used for drinking, irrigation or Korea, emerged as low bidders. Their aquifer recharge . However, the reactio n price of $50 mill ion undercut the lowest from Middle East governments has been MSF bid by nearly 9 per cent. In July , mixed. Initial interest was shown by despite pressure on SWCC to consider several Gulf countries, but politic ians are using Saudi Arabia's AI-Kawther Water wary of becoming dependent on a Treatment Company, which also has source of supply which could be cut off access to the RO process, it was confirmed overni ght du e to an unantic ipated d iplo· that the contract had gone to the UK/ matic crisis. Self-sufficiency remains th e South Korean group. overriding goal for governments in the Desalination technology 10 AUGUS T 1984 M Ef D 29

Bold steps taken to boost city supplies

CONTINUING migration away from the land is placing an intolerable burden on urban services throughout the Middle East. None show the strain quite so dramatically as water supply and waste­ water disposal systems. Ageing supply networks have fallen into disrepair, leading to considerable losses from broken and cracked pipes. And decaying wastewater networks cause frequent con­ tamination of supplies that are already inadequate. The political importance of satisfying city dwellers ' needs has seen governments pour money into major water and sani ­ tation projects - some of the region's Tumkgr Plants for largest and most demanding civil engin­ eering schemes . In Saudi Arabia, for exarr.ple, desalinated water is being piped Water Desalination 470 kilometres from Jubail, on the Gulf DDS-RO supplies turnkey desalination plants based coast, to Riyadh . The continuously welded on the energy saving reverse osmosis technique. pipeline, said to be the world's second­ longest, cost $4,000 million to build . • Standard plants with capaci- • Small compact plants with a Cairo is one of the region's cities most ties up to 20 mJ/hour. capacity of 8 m3/day. in need of improved wastewater provision. Now, after decades of planning and • Supply of both "Plate and • The membranes are of the bureaucratic delay, it is to have a new Frame" and Spiral Wound composite type with high system. The city's 10 million or so inhabi­ Systems. capacities and good chemi­ tants make up more than 20 per cent of cal and thermal resistance. Egypt's population, and overcrowding is causing serious problems. The health hazard has been described as "potentially ~~ explosive ." Sewage flooding in the streets ,­ of the capital has become a daily occur­ rence as the 60-year old network fails to cope with the volumes of effluent. In DDS RO·DIVISION some districts Cairo citizens have resortEd ,AJS DE lWJSKE SUKKERFABRIKKER to concreting over manholes to divert the DK-4900 NAKSKOV. DENMARK floods to other neighbourhoods . PHONE + 45 3 92 27 99, TELEX 47558 DDS-ROOK Contracts for the $2,000 mill ion FAX+ 453923111 was tewa ter net work are now being awarded . Several letters of intent have Please send information on: been issu ed and construction should start ------towards the end of this summer . Design I ' DDS RO-SYSTEM for DDS Spiral Wound System . work has been carried out by the US -UK Desalination. DDS Composite Membranes. consortium Ambric. DDS RO-SYSTEM for Ultrafiltra­ Please contact me. tion and Reverse Osmosis. The Middle East's most expensive water project is probably Baghdad's Name ______$6,000 million integrated supply and sanitation programme . The city's present Occupation ------­ PofJulation of 3 .5 million-4 million is Company ______expected to increase to 5.5 million by 2000 . To be compl eted in about 12 years' Address ______Ill c 30 Ml I D 10 /\liGlJST 19H4 II en I I z m en ,(/) m }> c-I :D ~ m Nile schemes bring benefits -and problems FEW natural resources in the Middle East have caused greater controversy than the Nile, whose catchment area takes in seve n countries including Sudan and Egypt . For thousands of years, the river's seasonal flooding provided the basis of Egypt's agricultural wealth. Today, flows are regulated by the two dams at Aswa n allowing year-round cultivation along t h~ valley and in the northern delta area, and providing hydroelectric power for the national grid. Sewage flooding in Cairo's streets has become a serious health ha za rd Unlike the Middle East's other major rivers, the Euphrates and Tigris, exploitat· ion of the Nile is nearing its limits. Egypt time, the scheme will take water from the demands up to 1993, when the population is already drawing its full entitlement of Tigris river north of Baghdad and distri· is likely to have increased to 3 .5 million. 55,000 million cubic metres a year unde r bute it through 9,000 kilometres of pipe­ According to the city's masterplan, any the 1959 Nile Waters Agreement. Sudan lines. Five water treatment plants will further supplies will have to come from the other signatory to this agreement, i~ deliver 4 million cubic metres a day tc regulation schemes along the Sabaou river. allowed just 18,000 million cubic metres 25 covered reservoirs . In addition, 9 ,000 Despite recent developments, availa· and the Sudanese government is eager t~ kilometres of wastewater pipelines are to bility of drinking water in many Middle increase its share. There is scope for better use of existing Nile resources and be installed. 1 East cities is still restricted to just a few French contractors have already built hours each day, with consumers at the for some additional regulation schemes ­ one drinking water network and a raw periphery of low-pressure networks though none on the scale of the Aswa n "garden" water system. A joint venture rece1v1ng a mere trickle. When supplies High Dam. between local and Ind ian firms is working are intermittent there is a greater risk of Built just two decades ago with Soviet on the first stage of the Karkh water contamination since pollutants can seep assistance, the High Dam is rega rded as a supply scheme, which will provide 200 into the pipes unresisted. mixed blessing . Most recently, concern million gallons a day for the city's west Last year Jordan's Amman Water has arisen over seismic activity ·in Upper bank . Authority took the bold step of switching Egypt which started in November 1981 Water shortages are also a problem for from intermittent to continuous water with an earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Algiers, which is dependent on ground· supply, arguing that consumption would Richter scale. Persistent tremors since water from the Mitidja Pla in aquifer. Five not increase significantly if it were linked then are believed to be associated in some years ago new wells were sunk to supply to a stepped system of tariffs. way with Lak e Nasser, and US consultant the demands of an increasing population, However, operating a tariff system is Woodward-Clyde has been appointed to and over-pumping has lowered reserves far from easy. In some parts of Egypt establish what intensity of earthquake drastically. Supplies in parts of the city meters have been installed on public the dam could withstand. are now restricted to eight or 10 hours a standpipes but, according to one study, Fears over induced seismicity ma y day. 70 per cent of these have been broken. prove to be unfounded, but there is no The answer has been found in the The dense ly populated province of Beheira doubting that unfamiliar problems were Kabylie mountains to the east of the in the delta region is now the scene of a created by the dam for Egypt's farming capital, where the Keddara dam is being major attempt to make water supply self· communities. Although river regulation built to make use of surface water. financing. With the aid of the World has allowed year-round irrigation, the Contract awards are expected soon for Bank, a new authority is being set up to flood plains are now starved of the nutrit· a subsidiary dam to supplement the main oversee a large rehabilitation programme ious silts which used to revitalise the la nd reservoir. Stored water will be fed to a and improve tariff collection. at each annual flooding. new 400,000-cubic-metre-a-day treatment By the end of the d ecade it is hoped The biggest problem associated with works where it will be mixed with ground· that this semi-autonomous authority will the High Dam is the rising level of ground· water before distribution. be showing a profit. If the Beheira scheme water caused by intensified irrigation and The World Bank has lent Algeria$ 290 is successful, it could be adopted elsewhere exacerbated by the widespread adoption million - one of its biggest -ever loans for in Egypt, and serve as a model for other of modern diesel and electric pumps. a water project - to help with the cost of Middle East countries. Inevitably, soil salinity is on the increase: the $770.5 million scheme. However, it threatening agricultural yields at a time is estimated that it will only meet Algiers' AC I of rapid population growth . c:t 10 AUGUST 1984 ME ED 33 c (/'. 2 rr (/'. (/'. ~ ::IJ m

Outside the agricultural sector, tradit­ tractor Compagnie de Constructions ional riverside brick industries have fallen Internationales has encountered delays into rapid d ecline because of competition over d ifficult ground condit ions and for depleted silt deposits along the valley . shortages of fuel. The b iggest blow came Thus, although intended to improve earlie r this year, when work was aban ­ Egypt's sel f -sufficiency, regulation of the doned following attacks and kidnappings Nile has brought a demand for outside of staff by southern rebels venting their assistance in solv ing new environmental wider political dissatisfaction o n a project proble ms . The UN Nile Wate rs Masterplan which they believe will do little to help team in Ca iro has established priorities for the south. action which include tile drainage of For many d ecades Sudan has hoped to agricultural lands to counter the rising benefit from periodic plans to regulate groundwater level ; greater re-use of the the outlets of East Africa's equatorial return flows from agriculture; and re ­ lakes, but the environmental consequences cycling of urban wastewater for irr igation for the Sudd are still regarded as being and eve n fish farming . too ser ious. A recent study by ltalian-UK In the meantime, plans to expand consultant Mefit Babtie concluded that agricultural output in dese rt reclamation although seasonal fluctuations in the sche mes have had to b e cut back for want Sudd would be reduced by the new canal , of new water supplies. Multinationals the area's se mi -nomadic tribes should be such as Persi Cola have jo ined forces with abl e to cope if extension serv ices were Egypt's Arab Contractors to try out improved and yfforts made to protect sprinkler irrigation systems, p ivoted on wildlife . groundwater pumpheads, giving rise to Meanwhile, studies are being carried circular fields of greenery amid arid out on boosting exploitation of the Nile landscapes. at three existing irrigation dams in Egypt The most immediate prospect for - Esna, Asyut and Nag Hamadi. Swedish increased water supplies is in Sudan, consultant Sweco has recommended the where the Jonglei Canal is being excavated go-ah ead at Esna for a new 20-metre-high through the Sudd swamps with the aim dam and 80-100-MW power plant, while of increasing Nile flows to the north . Italy's Bonifica is doing feasibility studies When complete the canal will stre tch 360 on power plants at the other two dams. kilometres from Malakal to Nile offtake Each could have generating capacity of structures near Bor, channelling flows up to 50MW. In addition, costly rehabili­ away from t he Sudci where vast quantities tation work has been undertaken at the of water are lost through evaporation. Aswan High Dam involving the replace­ The canal is expected to recover some ment of all 12 Soviet-made turbine 4,700 million cubic metres a year. runners. The scheme was originally due for completion in 1985, but French con­ AC

Progress on th e Jo nglei Ca nal \\'aS never S\\'i[t , but attacks by southern re bels earlier this year have t th e giant bu ck e t -wh eel excavat or to a complete halt UJ 10 AUGUST 1984 ME ED 35 c (J) z

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------mthe most prestigious civil engineering Turkey, Iraq project in Turkey. Standing 172 metres BOUYGUES PLAYS KEY ROLE high, and with a crest of 1,800 metres, INIRAQIBARRAGEEFFORT it will be the third and biggest dam on the harness LAST w inter's poor rainfall and the resulting Turkish Euphrates, and the fourth·largest low river levels have highlighted the impor­ rockfill dam in the world. tance of Iraq's efforts to control its water rivers' power The civils contract for the project was resources. Investment in barrages to regulate finally awarded last year, after months of the flow of both the Tigris and the Euphrates Sl NCE ancient times, the Tigris and competition, to ATA lnsaat Sanayi & is starting to pay off, with seven such struc· Euphrates rivers have been the lifeblood Ticaret, a consortium of three local firms tures now operational. The barrages have of civilisation in the countries through - Palet lnsaat, Enerji-Su and Seri lnsaat. been dubbed the "Hammourabi" dams, which they flow. Farmers on their shar· In March 1984, a $450 million-plus after the Babylonian king who ruled Meso ­ contract for electrical and hydraulic potamia. ed alluvial floodplains in Mesopotamia ­ A $44 million contract to build all seven part of modern Iraq - are believed to equipment went to a Swiss consortium of barrages was placed with French contractor have been operating an extensive irriga­ BBC Brown, Boveri & Company and Bouygues in July 1980. Despite early tion system as long as 5,000 years ago. In Sulzer Escher Wyss. The first of the dam's problems caused by the war - Bouygues recent years, too, every effort has been eight 300-MW generating sets is due to was unable to start work until July 1981 ­ made to harness the rivers, and today start up in 1991. the contract was completed in two years. schemes are under way which will have a Unlik e the other two dams on the The barrages are built on two offshoots of major impact on the region's agricultural Turkish Euphrates, Ataturk will provide the Euphrates - Shatt ai-Hilla and Shatt output. irrigation water as well as power and could ai -Daghara - which are used as drainage canals. Both rivers rise in Turkey, though the prove to be a turning point for the Sited on an SO -kilometre stretch between Euphrates also flows through Syria before country's agricultural sector. It will bring Hilla and Afaq, the barrages ensure regular entering Iraq. The two watercourses meet 8,000 square kilometres of land under distribution of water to the 400,000-hectare near Basra to form the Shatt ai·Arab. In irrigation. Hilla-Diwaniya irrigation project, and are total the basins of the rivers and their In Iraq a large number of river regu­ estimated to recover about 35 per cent of tributaries cover 556,000 square kilo­ lation schemes have already been carried water which would otherwise be wasted . metres, compared with the Nile's 420,000 out, including the Dokan and Darbandi The two biggest structures are built on the square kilometres. Khan dams on tributaries of the Tigris. Shatt ai-Hilla - the larger of the two has six sluice gates and a navigation lock. In the upper part of the Euphrates The Had itha dam on the Euphrates is The first cement was poured in June catchment, construction teams are mobil­ still under construction, as is the S 1,500 1981 ; a year later, Bouygues had completed ising for the long·awaited Ataturk dam ­ million Mosul dam, on the Tigris, which all civil works, having moved more than 1 million cubic metres of earth and used 50,000 cubic metres of concrete and 3,500 tonnes of steel. Austria's Wagner -Biro was involved as a mechanical and electrical sub· contractor, and Bouygues employed a labour force of about 350 locals, Moroccans and Thais to complete work by November 1982. The importance of such projects was emphasised in July by Irrigation Minister Abdei-Wahab Mahmoud Abdullah, when he announced that stored w ater was being released to farmers to compensate for the low levels of the Euphrates. The ministry has accorded high priority to a similar sc heme being implem ented by China State Co nstruct ion En ginee r ing Corporiltion, whic h has a $174 mill ion contrac t to bu i ld four barrages on two Euphrates tributanes - t he K ul a and Sh amiya. Th e project 's main a1m is to control w ater for the Kifi -Shinaf iyJ irrigation proJ eC I. JONATHAN CRUSOE

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~ will generate 750MW. Civils contractor because of worries about the falling water for the latter is GIMOD, a West German- table. Italian consortium led by West Germany's Saudi Arabia agreed in 1982 to provide Hochtief. The dam will also provide irri· funds to accelerate Bahrain's desalination gation water for 100,000 hectares on the programme, and this July it was announced Jezira plain and is regarded as crucial to that the reverse -osmosis ( RO) process had Iraq's agricultural development. Progress been chosen for a 45,000-cubic-metre-a ­ has been seriously hampered by the Iran/ day, Saudi-financed plant to be sited at Iraq war, but the scheme is now believed AI-Dur. to be back on schedule. In the hope that future development An even larger dam has been suggested of Bahrain's water resources will be by the Iraqi government at Bekme on the smoother, Switzerland's Elektrowatt has Upper Zab river, a tributary of the Tigris. prepared a study on the island's long-term According to current estimates it would power and water needs. The result is cost twice as much as Mosul and have a likely to be tenders for a large combined power plant capacity of 2,000MW. How­ power and water desalination plant in the ever, the dam's siting near the border late 1980s or early 1990s, unlike the with Iran is one of the most prominent current projects, where power and water stumbling blocks - apart, of course, from elements have been sited separately. financing. Bahrain, Oatar and Kuwait, because Overall, Iraq's intention is to restore of their concentrated population centres, its agricultural sector to the grandeur of have not faced the same problems of water ancient days but this will require a great Bahrain's Sitra desalination plant: water distribution as those experienced by larger deal of rehabilitation work. Centuries of shortages have forced a rel'iew ofneeds states, especially Saudi Arabia ilnd, to a flood irrigation and lack of drainage have lesser extent, the UAE and Oman. Saudi created serious salinity problems - the vulnerability of the huge desalination com­ Arabia, which already pipes water from bugbear of agriculture throughout the plexes to air attack or seawater pollution the desalination plant at Jubail to Riyadh, Middle East. weighs heavily on planners' minds. has tendered two new pipeline projects AC The idea of using oil tankers to trans­ for a two-phase scheme to carry water port water to the Gulf on their outward from Jubail to Oassim. journeys - with specially designed tanks In the UAE, resources have been wasted that can be reconverted to take crude on because of the reluctance of some emirates Cash shortage the return leg - still has some currency, to accept power or water from their neigh ­ reflecting the high cost of treating water bours. Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah all on-site. maintain autonomous power and water underlines In the meantime, however, govern­ departments, and only a major problem ments are continuing to invest in new with Ras ai -Khaimah's generation system Gulf states' plant. Saudi Arabia's Saline Water Conver· in the early 1980s brought the emirate's sion Corporation recently received bids system into the federal structure. for a 91 ,000-cubic-metre-a-day desali­ predicament ;,ation plant for the Asir region, and Abu IN the years after the 1979 oil price rises, Dhabi invested roughly a third of its 1983 Grid the Gulf states formulated ambitious development budget in power and water Abu Dhabi is in the early stages of Programmes to develop and exploit projects. its massive Taweelah power and desalin­ water resources. Their hand was forced to In some cases, the need to continue ation complex - France's Societe Inter· some extent by the need to provide in­ building has put an impossible strain on nationale de Dessalement (Sidem) won creasingly large amounts of water for government resources. Oatar, for instance, the contract for the first desalination domestic use - a demand exacerbated by badly needs to start work on new desalin­ phase in late 1982. Dubai and Sharjah the growing number of expatriate workers ation capacity, but lower oil revenues will both invest in major new plant over coming to the area . But their strategy, have postponed the start of the planned the next decade: Dubai already has room .vhich included setting up a network of AI.Wusail power and desalination plant, to add new desalination units at the desalination plants, was also aimed at expected to cost a total OR 3 ,200 J ebel Ali alutninium smelter, but by the achieving agricultural self-sufficiency. million ($ 879 million). In 1983 some of late 1980s will need a whole new power The area became the single largest the favoured bidders offered to take and water complex, unless some form of market for manufacturers of desalination payment in crude for work on the com­ grid and distribution system is worked equi p~ent, and by the beginning of this pl ex, but the civil works contract has yet out with Abu Dhabi. year tt had an estimated 700 million to be awarded. For the smaller emirates, cutbacks in gallons a day of installed capacity. But In Bahrain, lack of government re ­ the federal budget have delayed major some of the earl y hopes prompting the sourc"!s for investment in Jesalination has water projects designed to reduce over· wat~r exploitation programme look a little provoked a crisis in the island's water derendence on limited supplies of ground · ~arntshed now. Haphazard agricultural supplies. Last summer the water depart· water . A major new complex was planned ev_el opment has placed a severe strain on 1 ment was forced to limit pumping from for Umm ai -Oaiwain, with pipelines and 'rntted groundwater supplies, and the government wells to a few hours a day transmission to the other northern II> Ill C 3H Mi I D 10 AI I C I J~ l HHlll (/) z ~~

~.,. ------­emirates, but this has yet to get off the ground . Instead, the emirate was forced to move ahead last year with a small interim RO project. The dangers of d elay we re pointr. d out in a study by a Netherlands consultant, Tebodin, at the end of 1983. The re port, prepared for the federal Ministry of Elec· tricity & Water. underlined the need to move ahead with stalled federal projects and create a proper grid system for fresh water supplies. Otherwi se some of the small e r emirates will face the alarming prospect of dependency on water brought in by tanker as groundwater wells become increasingly saline. ..,.._,.{. , The GCC is already studying problems with electricity supplies in the Gulf states - it is attempting to work out a Gulf-wide !4 . strategy, which might include a GCC grid For hundreds ofyears, Oman has relied on its fa/aj system for water. Now, howel'er, new system. Given that all the area's govern· conservation and d el'elopment projects are under way to help meet increased demand ments face a broadly similar problem over investment budgets. Since 1970, the area In the southern city ofSalalah, improv. water resources, consultants argue that nas expanded 60 kilometres west of ed water supplies of 10,000-12,000 cubic the time is also right for a GCC water Muscat to take in Seeb village; over the metres a day are overloading the city's study. next 20 years, its population is expected antiquated network of cesspools and MARCUS WRIGHT to double to more than 450,000. septic tanks_ Consultants have worked on In 1983-84, several contracts have studies for a sewage disposal system, but been completed or awarded that will lay no funds have been allocated to the pro­ the groundwork for the capital's water ject in the second plan. UK design -and ­ supply to the end of the century. Its pre­ build packages have been discussed, Oman develops sent needs of 60,000-7 0,000 cubic metres possibly to be backed by export credits a day are being met from aquifer wells but so far nothing concrete has emerged to the west of Seeb, and by two desalina­ from the protracted negotiations. skills ancient tion plants at Ghubrah whose combined Though attention has focused on the output is to be raised to 55,000 cubic cities, rural areas have not been neglected and modern metres a day by early 1986. in water planning. The first plan's over­ Ghubrah is also the site of an under­ ambitious goal of food self-sufficiency has OMAN is no newcomer to the techniques ground reservoir, completed in mid-1983, been replaced by the more sensible and of water supply and conservation. Its which is linked to Muscat's pipeline grid attainable aims of staged growth in crop ingeniously constructed falaj networks and supplies water to the Rusail industrial and livestock production, and wate r have serviced domestic needs and irrigated estate, and of a central blending plant conservation. village fields for hundreds of years, and which came into full production this Scarcity of water is acknowledged as perhaps since as long ago as the third cen­ April. It mixes the slightly brackish water one of the main constraints to agricul · tury BC, according to archaeological stu­ from the Wadi Adai aquifer with de­ tural development. Of the Agriculture dies. Indeed, there are now pressing calls salinated output and Seeb's good water to Ministry's RO 45 million (S 130 mill ion ) for falaj aqueducts and cisterns to be pre­ produce high-quality drinking water. The allocation for water in the second pla n, served in the face of modernity, both for aquifer wells are also being upgraded . RO 22.2 million (S 64.2 million) ha s their simple efficiency and as reminders Looking further ahead, an 80-metre­ been set aside for falaj ma intenance an d of Oman's cultural heritage. high concrete arch dam to be built at repair. Since 1970, however, the pace of Wadi Dayqah near Ouriyat will store 100 With US aid, a RO 5 million (S 14.5 modernisation has steadily increased, and million cubic metres of water, thus million) experimental dam at AI -Kod h to supply both agricultural and urban guaranteeing the capital's long-term will be completed next March to study needs, new means of enhancing Oman's supplies. The scheme, costed at some ways of recharging the water table and limited water reserves have had to be RO 45.5 million (S 130 million), will the vital wells wh ich feed the falaj cha n· adopted . Water conservation and de­ probably be built during the next five- nels. The dam will be permeable, slowing velopment are important elements of the year plan. down rainwater run-off and allowing it to second five-year development plan A programme of complementary seep into water-bearing ground strata. If (1981-1985), and are expected to loom sewage d isposa l schemes was started the relatively inexpensive scheme proves large in the third. earlier this year to accommodate in­ successful, it will be copied in other The capital area, which has been the creased wastewater flows in the capital parts of the country. focus for economic development over the area. Design work was also initiated on a past 1 0 years, has tended to soak up the sewerage masterplan for Muscat and bulk of the Electricity & Water Ministry's Seeb. JIM BODGENER en z

I ~~~ hA j ------to build------pipelines------linking------Tazerbo-- and------m and maintenance . An average 8,000 Man -made river Sarir in the Sahara with the long coastal Korean labourers will work on the job 1 strip from Benghazi to Sirte. at any one time. Several subcontracts For many years, sceptics claimed the for equipment supplies and services such brings water project would never start. Rivals from as telecommun ications and power are 1 South Korea were cynical when the expected to go out this year. to the people contract was awarded. Dong Ah was not Almost 300 wells are needed to among the giants in Libya, yet it had extract the water at Sarir and Tazerbo. Ll BYA'S urgent need for water has been pipped them all at the post . Their only Submersible pumps will push the water answered by an ancient sandstone aquifer consolation is that a further award is to a height of about 300 metres above deep in the Sahara desert . Over the next expected over the next few years for sea level . It will then flow through two six years a South Korean construction the second leg of the project -to build pipes at an average rate of 2 million firm, aided by US advisers, will be laying a pipeline in the west of the country cubic metres a day to a reservoir at 2,000 kilometres of pipeline to bring between Sawknah and the capital, Tripoli. Ajedabia, 100 metres above sea level. water from the aquifer to the population Project manager for the f irst scheme, From the reservo ir the water will flow centres along Libya's Mediterranean coast . the UK office of the US' Brown & Root, along two further pipes to Sirte and Discovered in the 1960s during oil is also preparing designs and eventually Benghazi, ,Jroviding irrigation for 37,000 prospecting, the huge natural reservoir tender documents for this phase . small farms of around f ive hectares each. posed a problem for Libya's planners. As part of its contract, Dong Ah is to The land along the Mediterranean coast Should the people be taken to the water , build two factories at Sarir and Marsa is the most fert ile in Libya, but years of or the water to the people? ei -Brega to produce the four-metre­ usage and encroach ing salinity from the v- Failure to attract enough people to the diameter pipe required . The UK office of sea have put a severe strain on exist ing ic desert regions persuaded the government the US' Price Brothers is supplying the water supplies . Once completed , the 's to press ahead with one of the world's manufacturing licence for the factories "great man -made river," as the scheme 1 most ambitious water -related projects . and will import most of the plant and has bee n grandly titled , will irrigate In November 1983 South Korea's Dong other equipment from its US parent. around 180,000 hectares - more than Ah Construction Industrial Company Dong Ah is also responsible for housing, twice the present area . If, as planners was awarded a S3,300 million contract trucks, road construction, and operations pred ict, wheat yie lds reach four tonnes .,.

s ,_ e ) 1, s d

5 OJ C 40 Ml Il l 1[) /\\lt,\1~ 1 HlB4 (/) z ;~ :0 m ------~ LIBYA :Route of Irrigation Pipelines Algerian plan 100 200 300 miles confirms shifts

\ \ in priorities \ I WESTERN LIB Y A I WATER PR OJECT 1 \ THE Algiers bureau chief of one of th \ \ international news agencies routinely rise. I I and bathes before dawn to catch th ". fleeting daily supply of water. Nearby ir Sawknah w ell- f ield the Albert Premier hotel showers are onl available before midday. In summer, to officials, hotel residents, foreign manage and the poor are all equally afflicted ir central Algiers - water is a precio u service , supplied, if they are lucky, fo only a few hours each day . All this is set to change soon with th award of a S 500 million contract t Kufra well-field ensure adequate supplies in the capita until 1993. Major new water suppl projects are also taking shape in oth e Algerian towns like Wahran an Oacentina. And across the coastal str i N IGER CH AD and the high plateau steppes behind it dozens of small and large dams are bein studied and built along the oueds (rivers to provide more water for industrial ------planned domestic and agricultural use. In all Source Brown & Root I U K I irrigati on schemes are planned to doubl the existing 300,000 hectares of irrigate land by 1990. IJ> a hectare, Libya could become a net its drawbacks. Some development sectors, The scale of this activity reflects th exporter of wheat before the end of the such as industry, have been adversely major resurgence of official interest ir century. The area is also intended as affected by the shortage of funds it water resources since the early 1980s graz ing land for up to 2 million sheep has caused. Important projects like the which has led to the sector bein or 200,000 dairy and beef cattle. Sirte fertiliser complex and the Zuwara accorded, with agriculture, "absolut However, as costly experimentation aluminium smelter have been among priority" in development for the rest o at Kufra - in the southwest of the those to suffer. The country's ambitious the decade. This priority has been en country - has shown, yields do not desalination schemes have also been shrined in the new 1985-89 developme n always live up to expectations. Some affected. The largest of these, at Tripoli, plan, to be published by the end of 1984 20,000 hectares of irrigation-fed land has been scaled down by 30 per cent Foreign consultants, contractors an have been put under cultivation around from its original S 1 ,000 million costing. suppliers interested in water-related wor Kufra, but the goal of up to 2 .5 tonnes Capacity of the planned desalination are already well-entrenched in the marke of wheat a hectare is still a long way plant at Zuwetina has been halved to But in addit ion to the usual frustratio n off. Yields were much higher than in 20,000 cubic metres a day. of doing business in Algeria, they ar rain -fed coastal areas, but low taking In the early stages of the water project, facing increasingly stiff competition fro n into account the large investment made. revolutionary leader Muammar Oaddafi local state concerns. In the short term, the aquifer supplies talked confidently of financing from the The most recent dam contract, a will allow great savings in water produc­ Gulf states. However, this has not been Mexenna, was all but awarded to· tion. Water from this source will cost forthcoming so far . Some $500 million Spanish consortium before being passe about S0 .17 a cubic metre to recover, a year over a period of six years is tied to state dam builder ENRB in mid -1984 compared with S2 a cubic metre for up in the scheme, which places a heavy at least in part because of a natural ga desalinated output. In addition, the burden on government finance and contract dispute between Spain an scheme offers Libya the promise of undoubtedly means that other plans will Algeria. However, the Span ish consortiu r food self -sufficiency - an invaluable be forced to take a backseat for some grouping Entrecanales, Huarte anc asset for a country with such a highly considerable time. Agroman may yet win work advisin. tuned sense of its own vulnerability. ENRB on the S80 million scheme .• However, the scheme is not without TOBY ODONE Overall, there is certain to be mo r than local concerns can manage reported to be the last two in the race, for Arab Economic Development, and the one. One major source will be the which has been complicated by the new Arab Fund for Economic & Soc ial Algiers water supply project, fashion in Alg eria for payment, whenever Development are all lending for dam ich has been under discussion since the possible, by barter. projects. 1970s, when the World Bank first A UK firm, Paterson Candy Interna­ Seven major dam contracts worth e involved, and is now casted at a tional, will work as subcontractor on the AD 2,1 00 million ($420 million) were I $770 million. The bank finally treatment works if the overall contract already under way before the start of the d a $290 million loan towards is won by the Ind ian bidders. Ind ian 1980-84 development plan. Since then project this July - including retro­ contractors, already active in railway and work has begun on at least 13 more dams active financing of the related Keddara airport development, hope to move together worth almost $ 1,000 million. dam being built by Yugoslavia's Hidro­ increasingly into the water sector led by The Hydraulics, Environment & Forestry tehnika. The loan agreement was their country's state-owned Water & Ministry, which oversees water project s contingent on a doubling of water rates in Power Development Consultancy Services - although the client is frequently the the capital to help Entreprise de (Wapcos). But Continental is up against local wilaya (provincial government) ­ Production , de Gestion & de Distribution a tough opponent in Hidrotehnika ­ says it expects to build or start work on d'Eau d'A lger ( Epeal) pay off the 15-year en Yugoslav firms have proved very competi· a further 20 major dams by 2000 with credit. tive in Alger ia, particularly on dam combined capacity of about 1,000 Work is to include a second dam, a building schemes. million cubic metres. treatment works, reservoirs, distribution Brazilian firms, too, have won dam Officials believe contracts for a further facilities, and technical assistance for contracts. Cons ultant Promon Engenharia five small dams are likely to be awarded Epeal. On e lump-sum contract is likely, was commissioned recently to prepare soon. They are the 5-million -cu ic -metre although bids were invited in such a way preliminary studies for five proposed Bou Hallou, Fekra and Arris ams, the that the treatment works could be dams in the Jijel area . By 1985 at least 11 -million-cubic-metre Ben Zid dam near separately awarded. Design of the entire one of these - the 50-metre -high Bousiaba Skikda, and the 21 -million,;ubic-metre scheme was by the UK's Binnie & dam, which is to supply water to the Fontaine des Gazelles dam near Biskra . Partners, and consultants are likely to bid proposed 2 .2-million-tonne-a-year steel ­ Local state-owned contractors will be for supervision work later in 1984. works at Bellara -is expected to move to favoured where possible, but foreign Construction is understood to have the full design stage. competitors believe the locals will be drawn separate bids from companies or Development fund finance for water unable to expand er.ot..:gh to t::ke on consortia in France (two), Sweden, schemes is becoming increasingly available ~ubstantially more work. Turkey. Spain, Italy, India and to A lgeria, not just from the World Bank The dnnual turnover of chief state Yugoslavia . Yugoslavia's Hidrotehnika but also from the Arab Gulf. The Saudi water contractor Sonaghter increased by and India's Continental Co nstruction are Fund for Development, the Kuwait Fund 50 per cent between 1980-82. It was s 1985-89 dea•elopment plan lays particular emphasis on the use of water in agriculture then restructured into smaller, specialised firms, as was the water maintenance and materials supply specialist Onamhyd. The Hydraulics Ministry now contaols 12 spec ial ised national concerns and about 30 regional concerns . The government

hopes specialisation will increase I efficiency. A further source of work in the longer ,, term may be desalination. So far, the technology has been limited to industrial i use, w ith two 10-million-cubic-metre-a­ year pl ants in Skikda and Arziw. However, I Japan's JGC Corporation is now studying the feasib ili ty of building a major new desalination plant to supply Algiers once th e World Baaak -financed distribution neti!'.'O tk is in place. Offici al sources say a modular approach is l ik ely, w ith units trea t ing up t o 25 ,000 cubac me tres a day succcssavely b ei ng add ed for a total capac ity of 150 ,000 cub ic metres a day . No cho ice h as bee n made yet between the revers e­ osmosis an d multi -stage flash processes. A feasi b ili ty study is also to be done on a proposed 20-mill ion -cub ic -metre -a-y ea r d esal ter for Wahran. NIGEL HARVEY 44 Ml I 11 10 /\lH;lJSl Hlli4

Bahwan Construction Company and OMAN: CAPITAL AREA PLANNING REACHES WATERSHED Wimpey Alawi - . whi ch both offered ahoul RO 7 1 tn 1ll1 on ($ 20 5 rnillrun K adhimiya mosque area, the planners face MEED 3 :8 :84). such problems as narrow streets, rudimen­ Tende r dJ•Cunwnts for a laruer con tr;r. tary electricity, water and sanitation services, at Thumrait have al so berm sent to iiTt and obstructed access . " One crucial require· cornpan ir:s on th e short I 1st for the .... ment of a modern Arab city is to be able to accornmodat ion co ntract . No dctai Is I I II I r- I ~I I get out of an airconditioned house straight of proj('(.t cos ts arr avai lab lr: yet. bu into an airconditioned car and travel wor will inchJdr~ buildings, sr~rvi c 1 1 s direc tly to an airconditioned office," sa ys and roarls . r:ont ra ctors say. Ryman. LOW's criteria are cost-effectiveness and minimal disturbance. Firm adherence to Joint venture to build dam the final plans will require some demolition Thr RO 5 million ($14.5 million) work and relocation of inhabitants, says contract t o bui ld an exp~~ rim en tal dar r Ryman, but in the past the authorities have at Wadi ai-Kodh has gone to a jomt met compensation claims with sympathy venture between Lebanese-owned .I and understanding . Ruwi is densely I Athens-based Consolidated Contr~ctors populated by expatriates, chiefly Asians, International Company (CCC) and th c­ and has mushroomed haphazardly. The US' H 8 Zachry. . plans call for general tidying up along orderly development lines. The scheme is being r:o-financed by th• Adtlei ba is the natural centre for an Agri culture Ministry and the US Agenc . urban area which, in the past 14 years, has for Internationa l Development (USAID', snaked along the coast, hemmed in by Consultants are the US' Stanley mountains, to Seeb and the international Consultants and Cyprus' Hydroconsu/t. airport. This growth has necessitated more The dam will be permeable, and is deta iled planning for facilit ies further west, designed to slow down rainwater run -of' A problem street in the capital area - typical such as the new ministries' complex at of many facing Llewelyn-Davies Weeks AI-Khuwair. long enough for it to seep through th P. The work could cost RO 200 million dam into the ground and rep lenish PRESERVING the best of the old, while (S 578 million) in total - RO 60 million the water tabl e. Compl etion is for Marc ~ introducing modern amenities , will (S 173 million) has been provisionally 1985 (ME ED 19 :8: 83). distinguish the development of Muscat's estimated for Ruwi alone. For tendering, a capital area . In drawing up detailed blue­ breakdown into hundreds of small projects prints and guidelines for parts of the city, IN BRIEF is likely, but they will probably be rolled into the Ruwi business area and Adheiba to the o West Germany's Lufthansa is to introduce a larger contracts to simplify administration west, the UK's Llewelyn-Davies Weeks three times week ly service between West and implementation. Tenders are unlikely (LOW) will stress urban renewal rather than Germany and MuscaJ in April 1985. It will to be called during the second five-year a completely fresh start (MEED 3 :8 :84). use European Airbus lndustrie A 300 aircrah . plan (1981-85), but the scheme will The 24 new plans are being drawn to a flights w ill terminate in Muscat. probably be an important part of the third, scale of 1 :50p, rather than 1 :2,000 as in which LOW is helping to draft. o The local Bin Ameir Establishment is low earlier drafts - "We're talking about five Elements already identified include road bidder for a contract to b11ild a 16-c lassroom square kilometres of detailed planning," school at AI-Majis, a 20-cl assroom school at surfacing, water, sewage and electricity says LOW associate David Ryman. Road Shinas and a 1 6 -c lassroom school at Suwaiq conduits, the landscaping of small parks, alignment, pavement widths, railings, trees, Its RO 927.374 ($ 2.6 million) bid was and the creation of a large park at the follow ~: shrubs and flowers, and public services sites by two other loca l f irms, AI-Hamad Enterprises will be laid out. Basic land use will be out­ entrance to Ruwi valley . Contractors cannot expect one big bonanza of awards, however; wit h RO 992.241 ($2.8 million) and A IFairuz lined, as will some urban design parameters Trading & Contracting with just above RO 1 they will be phased . " In other words, you're and three-dimensional spatial development million ($3 million) . never quite finished -urban renewal is not models. These guidelines will be fairly like a one-off project, but very much an strictly applied n ~ompletion in mid-1985, o Feasibility st11dies have been completed for ongoing series of improvements," says but there will be some latitude for the construction of 10 offices for walis (local Ryman. developers to negotiate . qovernors). They will be at Buraimi, lbri , Sur . As with the development of Baghdad's JIM BODGENER Bahia, Dhank. A I-Awabi, Nakhl. Ja laan Bin Hassan . Liwa and AI-Ashkara. The 1981 -85 five-year plan has allocated RO 12.5 million MOROCCO continued from page 25 The agreement is significant because of Libya's ($ 36.2 million) for the construction of 38 in Onarep's drive to persuade foreign oi l historic support for Po lisar io. the Saharan walis' offi ces. of which 16 have already com panies to ta ke up exploration people's independence movement (MEED been built. 8 :7 :8 3) . concessions (MEED 16:9 :83). o The loca l National Biscuit Industries plans to start production ear ly in 1985. Initial IN BRIEF output will be about 600 tonnes of biscui ts a o The US' Scientific Atlanta has been awarded . ·. OMAN -.. year. the contract to install a ground station for t he o Busmesses reg ist ered with the Commerce & Arab Satellite Communications Organisation lnd11stry Ministry in t he first half of 1984 (Arabsat) . T he MD 35 million ($ 3.9 million) Three negotiate for air base work totalled 2 .541 - a 96.5 pe r ce nt increase frorr station is being financed by the Kuwait Fund Th ree companies have been called in to the corresponding period of 1983. for Arab Economic Development (KFAEDI. negotiate with the Defence Ministry on o A squadron of Saudi jets is taking part in a o A transport co-operation agreement was their bids for a contrac t to build two-week exe rcise with the Omani air force . signed with Libya d uring a four-day visit by accommodation and additional services says the official Oman News Agency. Libya's Communications Secretary Mubarak at Thu mrait air base . They are Lebanese­ ai -Shamekh. L ibya has agreed to participate o Correction : Consulting Engineering Service~ owned. Athens-based Consolidated in the planned extension of Morocco 's railway (India) is architect and consulting engineer for from Marrakech t o La youn. in the disputed Contrac tors International Company construction of a cabinet building in Muscat Western Sahara. acco rding to a statement by (CCC), low bidder with RO 6.9 million not Shapoorji Pal/onji as reported (MEED Morocco 's T ransport Minister Mansouri Benali. ($ 19.9 million). and two local firms - 6 :7 :84)