Aqualia wins Saudi wastewater contract

expat network

Aqualia wins Saudi wastewater contract

CC Aqualia has been awarded a €20mn contract for the operation and maintenance of the two largest wastewater treatment plants in Saudi Arabia.

In a consortium with the local company Alkhorayef Water and Power Company, the Spanish firm will manage facilities in Hadda and Arana in Mecca over three years.

The plants treat an average of 250,000 m3 per day of wastewater and a have a maximum capacity to treat 375,000 m3.

This is the third contract in Saudi Arabia that has been awarded to the water division of FCC, the Citizen Services Group, since it started work on the water network optimisation contract to the east of Riyadh in 2011.

The consortium between both companies will be jointly responsible for: the operation and maintenance of treatment facilities and units, including workshops, laboratories, electrical installations, service road status, security systems, supply, sanitation and drainage projects within the facilities, environmental maintenance of the facilities, laboratory team and conducting analyses.

In recent years FCC Aqualia has been selected to carry out various projects in the Middle East. In 2010 it was chosen to optimise the water supply network in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh.

Since January 2012, FCC Aqualia has been overseeing the water sanitation and purification in the eastern area of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which stretches 2,400 km in length.

In December of last year FCC, in conjunction with the companies EPC and Hyundai Rotem, began to operate in Qatar where it controls the sanitation of the city of Al Dhakira, located in the Qatari east coast, around sixty kilometres from the country’s capital, Doha.

The project includes the construction and operation of a wastewater treatment plant to meet the needs of more than 200,000 citizens.

Source: www.utilities-me.com

Moving Abroad Checklist

Initial Considerations

Will your partner be travelling with you?

If so, what will they be giving up in your present home and will they be able to continue with their career in your new home? You will need to check whether a separate visa is required for your partner to work or if your visa gives that right. If they are unable to work you will need to decide on the effect on your finances and what alternatives are available to give a fulfilling life (home business, training, voluntary work).

Are you taking family with you?

Moving with family raises many exciting opportunities, but also can create challenges. The HSBC Expat Explorer survey indicates that expat kids can take six months to settle in to their new country (see article). Getting young or even older children to prepare to move and leave their friends and family behind can be a challenge and should be thought through.

The options for education is another area that needs to be thought through.

Moving your child to a new country with a different education system can be a great opportunity to broaden their experience, but if they are close to key exams the timing can make this inadvisable. If you do take your family with you, it is important to decide between joining the local school system or choosing an international school.

Where will you be living?

Whether you will be living in a house or apartment, furnished or unfurnished, these decisions will affect what you need to take with you. The time you are planning to live overseas will also affect whether you should leave your property at home empty, rent it out or sell it. See the article Sell, Store or Ship.