Samsung C&T will assist in the construction of a combined cycle power plant (CCPP) for the Facility D Independent Water and Power Project (IWPP) located 9 miles south of Doha, Qatar. The South Korean-based company received $1.8 billion of the $2.46 billion engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the project.
The plant is expected to generate approximately 2,500MW of electricity and 130 million gallons of potable water. Its estimated date of completion is June 2018. Previously, Samsung C&T completed the Al Shuweihat S2 IWPP in the United Arab Emirates, and the Dongducheon CCPP in Korea. The company is set to work on another CCPP in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia, and a power plant in Kirikkale, Turkey.
The Facility D IWPP is owned by Umm Al Houl Power, a special purpose company (SPC) under the management of Kahramaa, Qatar Petroleum, Qatar Foundation and K1 Energy. They have a stake of 60 percent, 5 percent, 5 percent and 30 percent in the SPC, respectively. K1 Energy is a consortium of Japanese companies Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) and Mitsubishi Corp.
Aside from Facility D, Kahramaa — also known as Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation — has other projects to meet Qatar’s rising demand for water. One of these is the five mega reservoirs that can generate 3.5 billion imperial gallons of potable water — enough for seven days of unrestricted water supply.
Other entities have also spearheaded projects to alleviate Qatar’s water supply problems. MECO, for instance, built two vapor compression desalination plants in Ras Laffan. The plants are expected to produce 720,000 gallons of fresh drinking water for the 6,000 people involved in the project’s development. Likewise, Toyo Thai Corp, in partnership with Mitsubishi, is also building a thermal desalination plant to be completed in 2015.
Qatar’s Water Consumption Levels
Dealing with water shortages is especially challenging for Qatar, one of the world’s few true desert states. For one, it has one of the highest water consumption levels in the world. Dr. Adil Sharif, a member of the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI), estimates that on a per capita basis the country’s residents consume an average of 500 liters of water every day. This is a stark contrast to the UK’s 150 liters, France’s 164 liters and Australia’s 290 liters.
As a result, the World Resources Institute ranks Qatar as one of the top seven countries at risk for extreme water shortage by 2040 — along with Bahrain, Kuwait, San Marino, Singapore, Palestine and the United Arab Emirates. These rankings were based on the climate changes, economic development, population growth and urbanization of each country.
Water shortages contribute to instability, state failure and regional tensions, according to the Intelligence Community Assessment on Global Water Security, since the affected countries have to compete for reliable access to a limited resource.
Qatar’s Response
In the Qatar Foundation’s 2013 Annual Research Conference, chairperson HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser emphasized the importance of scientific research to address Qatar’s three main issues: water, energy and cyber security.
Back in 2012, for example, a plan to build a solar-powered, 1,800MW desalination plant was announced. It was set to handle 80 percent of Qatar’s water desalination process. Likewise, Qatar University — in collaboration with ExxonMobil — is researching ways to reuse water. One of these is phytoremediation, where plants will be used to clean industrial wastewater within an engineered wetlands system.
Kahramaa also held awareness campaigns in schools throughout the country, with the goal of cutting down water and electricity consumption by 35 percent and 20 percent, respectively, within five years. Dr. Sharif echoed HH Sheikha’s Moza bint Nasser’s sentiments but also expressed reservations about the effectiveness of awareness campaigns. He says that although these campaigns are effective to an extent, new and improved desalination technologies will be even more effective.
By 2020, Sharif hopes the country will increase its water reuse by 30 percent.
Photo credit: Samsung
