THE Jebel Ali sewage treatment plant (STP) in Dubai has been selected as the UAE Water Reuse Project of the Year as part of the Meed quality awards for projects. The architect behind the project was MWH, which was also responsible for the engineering design, construction oversight and supervision of the key development.

The Water Reuse Project of the Year category includes water usage, public supply, waste and recycling, sewage and treatment and the project selection was made by an expert panel of judges from the UAE Society of Engineers based on qualifications and experience.

Edmund O’Sullivan, Meed Quality Awards chairman, says: “The projects we have named have been subject to a very demanding selection process. The Meed awards’ judging panel was impressed by the very high standards the project achieved. They are the best of the best and an expression of the brilliant work being done in the GCC across the entire project delivery supply chain.”

The STP treats the wastewater from Dubai’s new housing and industrial areas and provides irrigation water for the city. The project was constructed by the Al Ahmadiah-Aktor JV, which constructed the first phase of the facility in time to divert the tankers from the existing Al Awir STP. The first phase of the STP, which can treat up to 300,000 cu m of sewage per day, was completed late last year.

The Jebel Ali sewage treatment project is a grassroot plant that is expected to be developed in four phases in order to reach a capacity of 1.2 million cu m per day. It is part of Dubai Municipality's plan to provide modern infrastructure and to keep pace with the population growth expected over the next 25 years.

The project is being built on a 6.7-million-sq-m desert site south east of Jebel Ali Free Zone and treated wastewater will be used for irrigating parks, golf courses, fields and road verges.

Ashok Sukumaran, UAE director for MWH, says: “This is a splendid recognition of the hard work and commitment shown by all parties on a challenging water engineering project. The project duration spanned the construction boom in Dubai and the recent fallout from the global financial crisis, so it has been demanding from a technical, project delivery and financial perspective. Seeing it completed is satisfying and it serves as an admirable example of what can be achieved when contractor, consultant and client work through issues on a best-for-project approach.”

The Meed Quality Awards for Projects were introduced by the business intelligence magazine to recognise projects in the GCC countries that have demonstrated excellence and innovation.

MWH is a global leader in wet infrastructure, providing environmental engineering, construction and strategic consulting services. It has been active in the UAE for more than 40 years and was appointed by the Dubai Municipality in 2003 to provide professional services to conceptualise and develop the design for the Jebel Ali STP, which was to be the largest STP in the Middle East at the time.

Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, US, MWH is a private, employee-owned firm with approximately 6,000 employees worldwide. The company provides water, wastewater, energy, natural resource, program management, consulting and construction services to industrial, municipal and government clients in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, India, Asia and the Pacific Rim.