AWWA MTC57617

In May 2001, a consortium led by Mohammed Abdulmohsin Al-Kharafi & Sons (the Kharafi Group) won a 30-year concession from the Kuwait government to recover municipal wastewater from Kuwait City and the surrounding area. The consortium will design, build, own, operate and maintain a 100 million gallon per day (mgd) (375 ML/day) wastewater treatment facility at Sulaibiya near Kuwait City. Expansion is already planned to reach a total capacity of 160 mgd. The Sulaibiya facility will be the largest membrane-based water reclamation facility in the world. The purified water from the Sulaibiya facility will be used for non-potable uses that are currently impacting the drinking water supply. However, an innovative system design will produce water that complies with the more stringent drinking water quality standards. The authors' companies will participate in the project from three different perspectives: as a 25% equity partner in the project company; as the designer and supplier of the reverse osmosis (RO) and ultrafiltration (UF) membrane-based water purification systems; and, as an operator of the membrane portion of the facility over the 27.5 year contract period. The Kharafi Group has formed a separate joint venture company to construct the civil works and facility infrastructure as well as other portions of the project. The plant is expected to begin operation by the end of 2004. This project is expected to provide the benchmark and catalyst for the successful implementation of similar BOT projects in the Middle East region, which are particularly relevant due to the scarcity of water in the area. Includes reference, table, figure.