This desalination plant in Al-Hidd will be joined by additional facilities as Bahrain seeks to boost its water production. (Image via sidem-desalination.com)
Aiming to meet its growing water needs, Bahrain is pursuing an ambitious plan to increase its production of desalinated water. The kingdom currently produces 142 million gallons of water a day.
The first stage of the plan will cost some $400 million and has a particularly ambitious timetable: The aim is to already produce an additional 48 million gallons of water a day by mid-2011. The second stage will phase in production of another 52 million gallons per day over the next two decades, bringing total daily capacity to 242 million gallons.
“Bahrain consumes 140 million gallons of water per day, so we need to have 420 million gallons to be enough for three days if an emergency strikes,” Dr Abdulmajid Al-Awadhi, chief executive of Bahrain’s Electricity and Water Authority (EWA), told the Gulf Daily News. And this is before taking into account future growth in water consumption.
Al-Awadhi acknowledged that it is also necessary to address Bahrain’s high rate of water consumption, noting that per capita consumption of water is about 125 gallons in the kingdom, compared to about 60 gallons in Japan.
The plan to increase water production includes building new desalination stations and water networks. “Bahrain is planning to secure water in all five governorates and connect water pipes to new houses, malls, shops and other buildings,” Al-Awadhi said.
:: ArabianBusiness.com
:: Gulf Daily News
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