CAIRO — Egypt President Abdel Fattah El Sisi officially inaugurated the Al Mahsamma agricultural drainage treatment, recycling and reuse plant in Ismailia Governorate Thursday. The project has a capacity of 1 million m3/day and is built in an area of 42,000 m2, making Al Mahsamma the largest plant of its kind in the world.

The project worth $100 million has been developed by the joint venture (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 operation and maintenance (O&M) for a period of five years.

Al Mahsamma is part of Egypt’s progressive and multipronged approach to ensure the country’s water security through wastewater treatment, desalination, and preservation of natural water resources.

The plant’s daily capacity will contribute to the conservation 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, managing director at Metito Africa 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.

“In this project, we make use of the latest technologies for the treatment of agricultural drainage to produce suitable water for irrigation and land reclamation, following the highest quality standard and specs set by the Egyptian government.”

Madwar also highlighted Metito’s commitment to use 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 IT system used aims to monitor the effectiveness of the site operations and to ensure the quality of water remains compliant with industry 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 supervised 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 have been able to complete in a fast track record of 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 at Hassan Allam Construction.

“Al Mahsamma plant will significantly contribute to combating water scarcity in the country and will have a resounding impact on Egypt’s water security agenda, transforming the scope of wastewater treatment across Africa.

“We are extending our efforts to provide the latest solutions that solve water poverty, one of the major regional and global concerns,” Allam added.

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, using two individual pump stations crossing underneath the Suez Canal into Srabuim siphon.

The water is further pumped through the plant’s pump station via eight vertical turbine type pumps — six working pumps and two on standby — with each pumping at a speed of 7000 m3/hr.

As the global economy navigates its way through the adverse impact of the coronavirus pandemic across all businesses, the Al Mahsamma project marks a significant achievement for the Egyptian government and the wider African region, demonstrating sustained commitment to development in the water sector.

The 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 on a future date. — SG