Saudi, Japan JV taking care of Jeddah wastewater
Posted by Arab News
Shaheen Nazar | Arab News
Sunday 3 January 2010


JEDDAH: The wastewater treatment plant that was built last year near the Musk Lake in the east of Jeddah is operating smoothly, treating up to 15,000 cubic meters of water per day (m3/day).

The 60,000-m3/day-capacity plant has “the ability to dry up the lake in one year,” said Nizar Kammourie, chief executive officer of Suido Kiko Middle East, a joint venture between Saudi Brothers Commercial Company and Suido Kiko Kaisha of Japan.

In light of negative rumors about the lake following November’s floods, Kammourie’s statement lends weight to the Jeddah Municipality reassurances that the lake is safe.

Suido Kiko Middle East is working on two other projects in Jeddah that will be ready for operation this year. The first is Al-Khomrah wastewater treatment plant, which will receive industrial waste as well as domestic waste. The second project is a seawater desalination plant on the shores of the Red Sea in south Jeddah. The plant near the Musk Lake has been built under a contract with the Jeddah Municipality. It applies the most advanced sewage water treatment technology called MBR (membrane bio-reactor). This is said to be the largest facility of its kind in the entire Middle East. Kammourie said the Japanese technology is capable of treating sewage water to the point of making it “almost drinkable.”

On a visit to the plant, Kammourie displayed the treated water in a glass claiming it is consumable, adding that it requires one more stage of treatment called reverse osmosis (RO) if needed on a commercial basis. He said his company would increase its capacity gradually as and when the municipality wants them to do. So far, the plant is not taking sewage water from the lake and only concentrating on sewage brought from Jeddah everyday by trucks. “We have proposed to the municipality to link our plant with the Musk Lake. Given the opportunity, we have the ability to dry up the lake in one year,” he said.

The contract between Suido Kiko Middle East and the Jeddah Municipality is only for the daily supply of sewage water. Kammourie said his company has set strict parameters to accept truckloads. Among the parameters are PH, TDS, color and smell. This is to ensure that no industrial waste is mixed with domestic waste.

The company has trained Saudis to handle the sophisticated machines installed on the plant. The site also has Japanese experts, besides the usual work force from Asian countries. The treated water is collected in a pond and so the municipality has laid a pipeline to take the water to the eastern forest for irrigation.

Work on the other water treatment plant at Al-Khomrah in the south of Jeddah is in progress. According to Kammourie, it will be ready by July this year. It will have a capacity to treat 25,000 m3/day of industrial waste and 25,000 m3/day of domestic waste. The recycled water can be used for irrigation as well as agricultural purposes. Even the factories which would supply the wastewater themselves can use it. But it is for the municipality to decide what to do of this water. “If no one takes this water it can be disposed of in sea. It’s safe,” said Kammourie. But, he said, the ultimate decision about the use of recycled water lies with the National Water Company, an autonomous body formed by the Ministry of Water and Electricity. Launched in 2008, it is mandated to oversee water treatment and water supply in the Kingdom.

The desalination of seawater is another important area of water management in the Kingdom. This is the responsibility of the Saudi Water and Electricity Company (SWEC).

Suido Kiko Middle East is working on another ambitious project for the desalination of seawater in Jeddah. Known as South Jeddah Corniche (SOJECO), the plant is scheduled to be ready by the fourth quarter of 2010. It will supply water to the upcoming Jeddah Industrial City Phase II. It will also cater to the needs of Al-Khomrah area, which is 10 km from the plant. While the facility is being built by the Saudi-Japanese joint venture, it will be run by SAWACO, a private company involved in desalinating seawater and supplying to consumers in and around Jeddah. It is owned by Saudi Brothers, the local partner of Suido Kiko. SOJECO as well as the wastewater treatment plants in Al-Khomrah and east Jeddah are based on Japanese technology. “You can see very noticeable Japanese elements in all of our projects. We have a joint venture with them. But this apart, they have good engineering and they have good equipment. In MBR, Japan is the world leader. With regards to anything to do with membrane filtration, the Japanese are ahead. They have a distinctive advantage whether it is UF, MF, RO or MBR,” Kammourie said.

Besides Jeddah, Suido Kiko Middle East has its plants in Qatif and Ras Tanura while it is also working on projects in Najran and Taif. It is running a plant in the Asab oil field in Abu Dhabi as well.

The transfer of Japanese technology to Saudi Arabia is coordinated by Japan Water Desk, the Jeddah branch of Japan Water Cooperation Center for the Middle East (JCCME), a non-profit organization of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

According to Kyoji Nakano, representative of Japan Water Desk, his organization assists Japanese companies in transferring their technologies to the Kingdom and encouraging Japanese companies to invest in the Kingdom in the field of desalination, wastewater treatment, recycle of treated water and other fields of business.

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