India’s Wabag has secured the five-year contract for the operation, maintenance and management of Bahrain’s Madinat Salman Sewage Treatment Plant and Long Sea Outfall facility.

The contract is valued at BD4.5m ($12m).

In 2015, Bahrain’s Ministry of Housing awarded a joint venture of VA Tech Wabag and UAE-based Belhasa Projects a BD34.74m engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the scheme.

The joint venture designed and built the 40,000 cubic-metre a-day sewage treatment plant, which was completed in October 2018.

MEED understands Wabag has been operating the plant since its completion.

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development provided project funding.

The plant and outfall facility will cater to Al-Madina al-Shamaliya, a new town being built on 750 hectares of reclaimed land that will have a population of over 90,000 once complete.

The plant will use tertiary treatment (final filtration) and sludge treatment using aerobic digestion and thermal drying. Treated sewage effluent will be used for irrigation in the development.

The Madinat Salman Sewage Treatment Works, Long Sea Outfall and Irrigation Network won three awards in last year’s MEED Projects Awards, including Water Project of the Year 2019, Engineering Project of the Year 2019 and the Sustainability Medal.