- Ras Abu Fontas A3 is the first installation of this type to use reverse osmosis technology on a large scale in the country
The Qatar Electricity & Water Co (QEWC) has inaugurated the construction work on the Ras Abu Fontas A3 desalination plant at Ras Abu Fontas, near Al Wakra. ACCIONA Agua has been awarded the design, construction of desalination units (Reverse Osmosis) from Mitsubishi Corporation who was awarded EPC full turnkey contract jointly with TTCL Public Company Limited.
Inaugurating the ceremony was the Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and on behalf of ACCIONA, Luis Castilla, CEO of ACCIONA Infrastructure and José Diaz-Caneja, Director-General of ACCIONA Agua.
The plant constitutes a milestone in the field of desalination because it is the first time that reverse osmosis technology will be used on a large scale in Qatar for potable water production. To date, only thermal desalination technology has been used to desalinate water.
Ras Abu Fontas A3 will have a capacity of 164,000 cubic meters (m3) a day and is already at an advanced stage of construction.The end customer for the water produced will be Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA).
ACCIONA Agua is the Spanish company with the strongest presence in the water sector in the Middle East, the area of the world with the greatest growth potential in terms of desalination and water treatment, given the scarcity of natural potable water.The company has yet to start up two other plants in the region: a seawater desalination plant at Al Jubail (100,000 m3 per day) in Saudi Arabia and the Fujairah desalination plant (137,000 m3 per day) in the United Arab Emirates.