Iraq gears up for 'Grand Basra Water' project
ECONOMY | 2013-03-15
The Iraqi Ministry of Municipalities and Public Works is preparing to begin work on the "Grand Basra Water" project, the largest of its kind in Iraq, officials said.
Work is slated to begin in earnest in the second half of 2013.
"Our ministry took on the task of meeting Basra residents' need for drinking water by executing several projects that purify and desalinate water," said Khaled Jumaa Ali, director of the Basra Water Directorate. "One of the most remarkable and the biggest such project in Iraq is the 'Grand Basra Water' project."
The project will cost about $700 million, he said. The Iraqi government will finance 42% and the remainder will be covered under an easy-term loan the Japanese government has pledged Iraq.
PREPARING A HUGE NETWORK
The project will involve preparing a water distribution network; building a major pipeline to carry water to all parts of the province; and constructing a strategic storage tank with a capacity of 50,000 cubic metres, along with a pipeline to carry water to it.
In addition, all damaged lines and networks will be rehabilitated and repaired; two large water treatment units will be built, each with a capacity to treat 16,000 cubic metres of water per hour; and a desalination station will be constructed, with a capacity to process 10,000 cubic metres of water per hour, he said.
"The overall capacity of the project will come to 666,000 cubic metres a day, an amount sufficient to meet the water needs of Basra residents," he said.
Japanese water company NGS completed studies on the project, drafted its designs and prepared bills of quantities for the items and lists of materials needed, Ali said.
NGS will supervise each phase of the project, which is being carried out by other Japanese firms, and will train technical and engineering staff from the Basra Water Directorate, he said.
"Actual project work and implementation will begin next October at the latest, and will be completely finished and operational by the end of 2016," Ali said.
Iraq gears up for 'Grand Basra Water' project | Mawtani
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Details of $700m Upgrade to Basra Steel Plant
Iraq’s ministry of industry and minerals has confirmed that it has finalised a $700 million contract with Turkish group United Brothers Holding to revamp and upgrade Iraq’s State Company for Iron & Steel, reports SteelGuru.
SCIS, located on the southern outskirts of Basra,*has been out of action since April 2003. The company had a design capacity of 440,000 tonnes per year of 12 mm to 32mm diameter rebar and round bar. It achieved its highest output of 200,000 tonnes in 1989 before the first Gulf war. Limited operation was carried out between 1991 and 2003 before the mill was shut due to lack of funding.
The plant will be revamped in three stages;
The first stage is the installation of a new 820,000 tonnes/yr 8 mm to 32 mm diameter rebar mill along with electric arc furnace meltshop and 130 mm to 150 mm square billet continuous caster. This should be completed in Q3 of 2014;
Stage 2 is to double the melting capacity to over 1 million mt/yr and expand billet output to 130-180mm with an additional caster. A 250,000*mt/yr medium sections mill will be installed for production of IPE, IPN and UPN 80-160 sections, as well as 60 mm to 70 mm angles. SCIS’s existing rolling mill will also be modified to produce up to 250,000 tonne per year of light sections and rebar, giving the firm a finished long products capacity of 1.32 million tonnes per year by Q2 2015;
State 3 will see the two direct reduced iron plants at the site dismantled and a new 1.2 million tonnes per year capacity DRI unit constructed, most likely using either ZR Reformer or Midrex technology.
The work is expected to be completed in Q2 2016. The contract stipulates that UB will also operate SCIS for a period of 18 years and train its staff. Profits from the plant will be divided between the Turkish company and Basra province.
(Source: SteelGuru)
