Bluewater Bio International, the water and wastewater treatment company, officially launched its HYBACS wastewater treatment upgrade at the Tubli Water Pollution Control Centre (WPCC) in Bahrain on December 9.
The launch ceremony was held under the patronage of H.E. Essam Bin Abdulla Khalaf, who was joined by other guests, including Iain Lindsay, UK ambassador to Bahrain.
Serving a population equivalent of 800,000, this plant inauguration marks the official completion of the largest environmental regeneration project of its kind in the GCC, and the first phase of the Bahraini government’s long term master plan for the Tubli WPCC.
In his speech during the ceremony, Daniel Ishag, founder and CEO of Bluewater Bio, said: “Bluewater Bio is delighted to have been selected by the Bahraini government for the 8 million Dinar Tubli wastewater treatment plant upgrade. This is a prestigious project, on a global scale, which will make a major contribution to the regional environment and ecology. We are proud to help future proof the country’s social and economic growth.”
The US $20mn HYBACS upgrade, implemented by Bluewater Bio to help alleviate overloading at the original Tubli works, is demonstrating exceptional operational performance; producing test results that consistently meet the highest local and international treatment standards.
Eng. Khalifa Al Mansoor, assistant undersecretary at the Bahrain Ministry of Works, stated: “We meet today to celebrate the opening of the Tubli Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade project using HYBACS. Today’s event, in the presence of His Excellency the Minister of Works, Engineer Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf, coincides with Bahrain’s National Day Celebrations. The upgrade project treats 100,000m3/day of the sewage water flowing to the plant, which now totals 350,000m3/day. Preliminary results indicate that the new system is operating efficiently; in line with the standard specifications and measures adopted in the project.”
The project was implemented in two stages to meet the client’s continuous treatment requirements. The first stage, completed in June 2013, saw the Company’s SMART units, which power the HYBACS process, treat 50,000m¬¬3/day of wastewater. Following completion of stage 2, the HYBACS plant is now treating 100,000 of the approximately 350,000m3/day incoming flow to Tubli Treatment Plant.
Combined, these two stages involved converting two of Tubli’s ten existing aeration lanes and four of its twelve clarifiers to the HYBACS process, with 42 SMART units positioned upstream of the existing two aeration lanes. The 100,000m3/d excess flow was diverted from the existing preliminary treatment works to the HYBACS plant, increasing the loading by an additional 150% compared with the original design loading.
Daniel Ishag concluded: “At 42 SMART units, the HYBACS upgrade at Tubli Bay represents a watershed moment for Bluewater Bio, and one which steps us up a gear on the global stage. To gain recognition from the Minister and his team on a project as large and critical for Bahrain adds credence not only to our HYBACS technology but also to Bluewater Bio as a whole.
“I am personally thrilled with the effluent quality results at Tubli to date, and the strong feedback we have received from the Ministry of Works. I would like to thank everyone involved in the Tubli project: not only Bluewater Bio’s own contracting team; but also the Ministry itself, including Engineers Asma Murad, Ebrahim Al-Hawaj and Ban Najim Eldin, our delivery partners P2M, Atlas and Aqua Treat and the UKTI’s Global Entrepreneur Programme (“GEP”). We look forward to growing collaborations of this nature, both in Bahrain and the wider GCC.”
