Monday, Sep 05, 2016

Abu Dhabi: The journey of building Abu Dhabi’s Super Tunnel, a cutting-edge engineering project that will more than double the capacity of the wastewater network in Abu Dhabi island and mainland, has been made into a documentary shown in the capital on Monday.

The Dh5.6 billion project, STEP, which will increase Abu Dhabi’s wastewater capacity from around 650,000 cubic metres per day to 1.7 million cubic metres per day to cope with the growth of Abu Dhabi, was documented by National Geographic Abu Dhabi (NGAD) over the last two years and will premiere in the capital’s Emirates Palace tonight.

The documentary, Megastructures - Abu Dhabi Super Tunnel, shows Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company’s (ADSSC) quest in constructing a pioneering engineering project, in densely populated areas of Abu Dhabi and within tight time-frames.

The STEP, which is expected to be online by early next year includes, includes newly constructed 41km of deep sewer tunnel, 43km of link sewers to connect the existing system to the new tunnel, and a large pumping station at Abu Dhabi’s Al Wathba area.

The ADSSC’s clever engineering solutions have replaced the old system with one that uses gravity, which will see the removal of 35 pumping stations, saving energy and cost.

“The new gravity sewer system will provide future wastewater provision for the next 80 years. This is a one of a kind project and we are very proud of what our team have achieved. This infrastructure is a key element for the growth of Abu Dhabi and in line with the Abu Dhabi 2030 vision,” said Alan Thomson, the ADSSC managing director.

“The NGAD documentary will provide an insight into the challenges that are faced when working on a project of this magnitude. It will also highlight that through perseverance and dedication our engineers have been able to find innovative solutions to any issues that have risen through the course of the project,” added Thomson.

A total volume of 1,226,470 cubic metres at a rate of 100 metres per week, was excavated with 5,000 people working on the project during peak construction times. The deep tunnel starts at 24 metres below the ground surface and reaches depths of 80 metres.

By Sarvy Geranpayeh Staff Reporter

Gulf News 2016. All rights reserved.