Pipeline construction in the desert. Photo: ILF.In order to satisfy the constantly increasing need for water in the long term, mainly due to the rapid population growth, a new pipeline needs to be built.
The new transmission system "Ras Alzaur -- Riyadh" consists of one twin-tube pipeline with a length of about 460 km as well as three pumping stations with an installed capacity of 270 MW. The design transport capacity will be 950,000 m³ per day. The water will be treated in a desalination plant to be built in the vicinity of Ras Alzaur and then transported via the new 72" pipeline following the Northern route through a huge sandy desert to Riyadh.
The Austro-German engineering and consulting firm "ILF Consulting Engineers" (ILF) was responsible for the complete design process for the "Ras Alzaur -- Riyadh" system. As early as 2003, ILF started with the first feasibility studies and conceptual designs, followed by the preparation of all tender documents for the construction of the system in 2007. This year, the contracts for construction and delivery services were awarded to different international consortia.
In July of this year, SWCC appointed ILF to be the "Owner's Engineer." In the context of this multi-million Euro contract, ILF will review the whole detail design and supervise the construction works on site. This major contract guarantees a long-term utilization of staff capacities in the Munich and Innsbruck offices. In addition, a team of up to 40 experts will work directly on the building site.
"We have been active in the water transmission field in Saudi Arabia for over 30 years and are proud to make a contribution to the drinking water supply for the population. This new contract highlights the client's satisfaction with our services." (Franz Pölzer, ILF business area manager for water transmission systems)
This contract is the latest in the company's success story in the field of water transmission systems; already from 1977-1985, ILF was responsible for the overall design of Lines A+B and later on for Line C. Furthermore, ILF is responsible for almost all large-scale water transmission systems in the country. In addition, the company is currently designing large-scale water transmission systems in the United Arab Emirates and in Libya.
Entering the desalination market
Some four years ago, ILF started designing desalination plants and is now covering the whole supply chain from water development (in this case by desalination) to transport (via pipelines) and finally to storage and urban distribution.
ILF has been very successful in the desalination business over the past few years. Amongst ILF's references are the world's largest SWRO desalination plant in Mactaa, Algeria (500,000m³/d), and the world's largest MSF desalination plant in Shoaiba, Saudi Arabia (880,000m³/d). The company is also responsible for more than half of all planned desalination plants in Algeria. ILF was thus able to become one of the key players among the best consulting companies in this area at an international level.
