Sewa plans Dh561m service upgrade

  

 

Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (Sewa) is carrying out generation and desalination projects worth Dh561.4 million to meet growing demand caused by the expansion of the Al Hamriyah and Khorfakkan areas.

 

The authority’s director-general Engineer Al Waleed Khalid bin Khadem said a Dh446.1m desalination plant will be built at Al Hamriyah.

 

The projects will provide 140 million gallons of drinking water and 2,580MW of electricity, which will meet the emirate’s additional water and power demand until 2018. “The demand of water and power in Sharjah registers an annual rate of nine to 10 per cent,” he said.

 

The new electricity generation plants at Al Hamriyah Power and Water Desalination Station will be based on the combined cycle system that provides high productivity and efficiency and low fuel and operational costs, bin Khadem explained.

 

The first phase of the project will help to produce 20m gallons of water per day and is scheduled for completion in summer 2009, with commissioning by summer 2010.

 

“Another five plants will be installed by 2021, increasing the total desalination capacity to 140m gallons of drinking water per day.”

 

The cost of the project, which will be carried out by Austrian Aqaa Engineering, covers the desalination systems and equipment, civil works, supply, installation and commissioning of the desalination plant, he added.

 

The power generation section of the Al Hamriyah Power and Desalination Station will also be expanded. With the completion of the project in 2018, the power generation capacity will reach up to 2,580MW daily.

 

“The applied combined cycle system will help to increase the productivity of the new turbines and the generation of more megawatts,” said bin Khadem. “The first phase results in the generation of 400MW and will be completed by 2010, with an additional 1,875MW to be produced between 2011 and 2018 – an average of 325MW in each phase.”

 

Pratt & Whitney Power System, an American supplier of power and jet gas turbines and power systems, is carrying out the power generation project at Khorfakkan Power Station with a contract valued at Dh115.4m, said bin Khadem.

 

The project includes the supply, installation, and commissioning of Aero Derivative gas turbines of 50MW in phases. The new unit is expected to be commissioned by summer 2009.

 

The gas turbine of Aero Derivative is distinguished by low running cost and flexible and easy operation, particularly in emergency cases.

 

“Sewa’s development projects are steps towards a bright future, thanks to the support extended by senior officials to help carry out these projects and expansion of the comprehensive development process,” he said.