Construction made possible at reduced cost by DUBAL'S in house expertise
Dubai, UAE: In a remarkable engineering feat made possible and entirely orchestrated by Dubai Aluminum Company's (Dubal) highly skilled in-house specialists, three massive 400 meters underwater sea pipes were finally refurbished and made operational. Each individual pipe measures 400 meters in length and 2 meters in diameter. These pipes will flush sea water to cool Dubal's power generation plant and also be used to produce approximately 30 million gallons of desalinated drinking water per day.
"The 10 meter underwater sea project was undertaken and performed entirely under the guiding vision of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, the UAE's Finance and Industry Minister and Chairman of Dubal" said Mohammed Al Ghurair, Chief Executive, Dubal. "We believe this is the first time that such an operation has been completed successfully. Therefore, we at Dubal, will be more than happy to furnish the know-how to others in the region who would be considering such an incredible undertaking," added Mohammed Al Ghurair.
The urgent issue that needed immediate attention was the fall in capacity of Dubal's intake pipes, which after 25 years of constant use, had become internally encrusted with marine growth, such as mussels, barnacles and coral. This was creating critical problems, restricting vital water flow to the plant. After initial consultations with foreign firms, the aluminum giant found the cost of replacement of the pipes to be tremendous, more than double what was paid for the eventual refurbishment.
"Dubal's Engineering Services Department," continued Al Ghurair, "were requested to investigate the issue and finally determined that it would cost less and be less disruptive to the critical operations at the plant by refurbishing the pipes, instead of replacing them with new ones," he added. "Moreover, projected additional power generation capacity at the Dubal estimated that by September 2004, nearly 100% sea water capacity increase was required from these same underwater pipes."
"When we brought up the issue to a team of our own in-house specialists," said Al Ghurair, "they were then able to draw up plans that staggeringly reduced the costs of all previous estimates. From an initial evaluation of Dhs. 30 million, the final cost was as low as Dhs. 15 million, exactly one half of the initial proposed fee," explained Al Ghurair.
Dubal's novel plan was to inspect the pipes from the inside, whilst they were full of water. Once it was determined that it was safe for work to continue, one end of each pipe was blocked in turn. Then a riser pipe extension was installed at the sea intake end. At this stage, each pipe was then dewatered and desalinated, in order that repair work could be carried out in dry conditions.
"Once the pipes were cleaned," noted Rob Howell, Head of Dubal's Mechanical Engineering Department and team leader, "a special coating was applied to improve the water flow. Then, over 13 tons of low profile aluminum sacrificial anodes were installed to prevent the corrosion of the steel. Modern vortex breakers also were fitted," he explained, "not only to increase the water flow and temperature in the pipes, but more importantly to reduce the visual environmental impact. The dredging of the areas around the intake heads are still ongoing, where 70 000 tons of sand remains to be sifted."
"It was critical that the work be carried out safely," added Howell, "and remarkably, no time loss accidents were recorded. We were committed to avoiding, at all costs, any accidental injuries to the workers, which would not only be devastating to the injured party, but would also dramatically increase the costs of the operation," stated Howell.
"It is very satisfying to report that the work was carried out safely, and without interrupting the normal operations at the plant," added Rob Howell. "The job was completed within a very tight timescale, between April and August of this year, even managing to finish a week early. Also, I was so concerned to maintain maximum safety during the entire operation," continued Rob Howell, "that on completion of the project, I insisted to be the first person to investigate the work inside the refurbished pipes. I had to bear full responsibility for any danger that might visit any member of the construction team, during the entire procedure."
-Ends-
For further information, please contact:
Mr. Mohammed A. Yahya
Manager,
Corporate Affairs,
DUBAL
Tel: +971 4 8846666;
Fax: +971 4 8846919
E-mail: mayahya@dubal.ae
Or,
Yasser Fathy/ Tarek Ballout
Arabia PR FZ LLC
Tel: + 971 4 391 12 00
Fax: + 9714 390 45 11
yasser@dubaimediacity.net
© Press Release 2004
