To meet demand for cooling water of industrial projects
MUSCAT -- The government is planning the second phase development of the Seawater Intake and Return System (SI&RS) to meet the increasing demand for cooling water of a number of large petrochemical and industrial projects, which are under various stages of development in Sohar Industrial Area.
This follows the successful completion of a Seawater Intake & Return System recently with a designed capacity of 334,000 cubic metres per hour of seawater. "We have received more enquiries from industries for cooling water", said a senior official of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estate (PEIE), which is overseeing the project on behalf of the Ministry of National Economy.
Total demand for seawater at Sohar Industrial Area is envisaged at 600,000 cubic metres per hour, added the official. The government will carefully study the additional water requirement before deciding on capacity expansion, said the official, adding that a consultancy agency will be appointed soon for the second phase development. "The work is expected to start sometime in August next year. But it will be a fast track project", noted the official.
The government has already signed agreements with user industries for supplying a total of 300,000 cubic metres of water per hour, noted the official. The first phase of the SI&RS facility, which was set up with a capital expenditure of RO 25 million funded by the Ministry of National Economy, is a key infrastructure facility developed by the government and the Sohar Industrial Port Company (SIPC).
A consortium of Bahwan Contracting Company (BCC) and Sezai Turkes Feyzi Akkaya Construction Co (STFA) of Turkey has completed the project. "We provide water after carrying out preliminary purification. This can be used by user industries for different purposes in their plants", noted the official. "We can provide up to 380,000 cubic metres per hour", added the official.
A key component of the Seawater Intake & Return System is a reinforced concrete-framed pumping station where each of the planned industries will install their own pumps to extract seawater and pump it through their own facility. A common cooling water facility is advantageous for industries as otherwise, each industry will have to create separate facility for their water requirement of their plants. The station will be fully equipped to screen and chlorinate the seawater before it is made available to the industries to extract.
After using seawater for different purposes, each industry has its own effluent treatment plant to treat water before discharging it to a common outflow system for discharging it back into the sea. This will be undertaken as per environmental criteria and at stipulated temperatures that will not harm the marine environment.
"The temperature of the water discharged by industries to the common facility should not exceed more than ten degree of sea water temperature", added the official. The plant is designed in such a way that the discharged water reaches a mixing zone where an online monitoring facility ensures that the water temperature should not exceed more than one degree of sea water temperature.
© Oman Daily Observer 2005
