Drinking water a market of the future: Bilfinger Berger to build €410 million seawater desalination plant in Australia
April 02, 2009
April 2, 2009
Drinking water a market of the future: Bilfinger Berger to build €410 million seawater desalination plant in Australia
In Australia, Bilfinger Berger, together with two partners, has won an order for the design and construction of a seawater desalination plant in Port Stanvac near Adelaide. Total project volume amounts to €410 million, of which €165 million is accounted for by Bilfinger Berger. The plant has been designed for an initial volume of 50 million cubic meters of drinking water annually, but this can be expanded in the future. The desalination plant will go into operation in 2011 and will make an important contribution to securing the water supply in this major south-Australian city. The client is the state-owned South Australian Water Corporation.
As part of the consortium, Bilfinger Berger is responsible for designing and building the infrastructure and operations buildings, including two underwater tunnels. These will extract the seawater and return the salt solution. One partner, specialized in plant construction, will plan, deliver and assemble the technical equipment for the water desalination. The consortium is also responsible for the maintenance and operation of the plant.
With this project, Bilfinger Berger has also managed to gain entry into the growing market for seawater desalination in Australia which, as a result of climate changes, will play a central role in the supply of the country’s drinking water in the future. In the Arabian Gulf region, Bilfinger Berger is already a market leader in the repair and maintenance of desalination and water treatment plants.
