Veolia Environnement, part of the French transport and engineering major Veoli, has won a contract, to build the seawater desalination plant at the Az Zour North complex in Kuwait for US$437mn
Under this EPC (Engineering, Purchasing and Construction) contract won in partnership with Hyundai Heavy Industries, Veolia, through its subsidiary Sidem, will build a plant with a daily production capacity of 486,400 cubic metres of water. Hyundai will be responsible for building the 1,500MW power station.
All the electricity generated and the water produced, will be purchased by the Kuwaiti government for 40 years. Work will begin before the end of 2013 and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2016. The Az Zour desalination plant will account for approximately 20 per cent of Kuwait's installed capacity.
The construction of this desalination plant is part of the Az Zour North electricity generation and water production project located 100km south of the Kuwaiti capital.
Awarded a year ago to the consortium of GDF Suez Energy International (France), Sumitomo Corporation (Japan) and Abdullah Hamad Al-Sager and Brothers (Kuwait), this is the country's first public-private partnership for an independent water and power project (IWPP). This project is part of the long-term plan to develop Kuwait's installed electricity generation and water production capacity.
