British water engineering company Biwater has been awarded a $1.2 billion contract to deliver water and wastewater treatment infrastructure for the cities of Erbil and Sulaimani in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Under the project, Erbil will get a state-of-the-art water treatment plant that can handle 600,000 cubic meters per day, while Sulaimani will benefit from water treatment plant upgrades and the construction of cutting-edge wastewater treatment works and sludge treatment facilities.
A loan for the development works is being financed by U.K. Export Finance. JP Morgan is acting as the facility agent and mandated lead arranger for this initial loan on behalf of U.K. Export Finance to the Kurdistan Regional Government. Development works, which will include all relevant site surveys, social and environmental impact assessments and detailed designs, will run for a period of six to 12 months before construction.
Recently, Biwater was awarded a contract to design, supply and supervise the installation and commissioning of both ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis systems for the Groundwater Reliability Improvement Program advanced water treatment facility being constructed in Pico Rivera, Calif.
The new 14.8 million gallons per day plant will support the Water Replenishment District of Southern California in its aim to be 100 percent independent from imported water. Site work is under way following the recent groundbreaking ceremony to meet a completion date of July 2018.