In an exclusive conversation with Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing, Fady Juez, Managing Director at Metito, discusses the company’s commitment to developing and maintaining intelligent water management solutions and how public-private partnerships can boost the water management sector.

as the world dynamics related to renewable energy is changing, there is an increased shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Optimising the cost of operations is a subject of great significance to infrastructure development and the water sector is no different.

“With climate change, a pressing factor to address, decreasing the environmental footprint resulting from using traditional fossil fuels, while optimising the cost of energy has been driving the shift to embrace and integrate more renewable energy sources to power water projects,” says Fady Juez, managing director at Metito.

To put things in context, the global demand for energy is expected to nearly double by 2050, while water demand is set to increase by over 50%. He says that meeting this surge of demand presents a tremendous challenge with significant environmental implications if we don’t embrace alternative energy to power or copower water projects.

Metito has taken leaps to achieve this goal with two of their iconic desalination plants in Saudi Arabia copowered by solar energy to partially offset the energy intensity. Juez states that the company is seeing an increased demand for energy-efficient integration and is confident about having more energy-efficient projects.

The need for Public-Private Partnerships to boost investments and achieve a circular economy
In an infrastructure-intensive sector such as water, improving access and service quality to meet Sustainable Development Goal number 6 – ‘Ensure access to water and sanitation for all’ – cannot be done without a massive investment. Around the developing world, the water sector is chronically underfunded and inefficient. In this context, Juez believes Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are vital to helping governments fund the much-needed investments and bring technology and efficiency that can improve the performance and financial sustainability of the water sector.

He says: “PPP projects are efficiently developed as they ensure alignment of interest among all parties involved and everybody works together. We look at the long-term sustainable operation of the plant, and there is no incentive to cut corners, making a significant contribution to the communities we serve and in return enabling economic development.

“Leveraging its unequivocal experience launching and leading PPPs across different regions, we, at Metito, continue to endorse this solution for lifeline infrastructural projects for water and alternative energy in developing markets where other international water companies have traditionally been reluctant to look at addressing water security issues.”

Challenges
The World Bank estimates that $114 billion will be required annually to achieve universal access to safely managed water and sanitation services by the end of the decade, and funds from the public sector are projected to cover less than a quarter of that amount. Access to clean drinking water and sanitation for most of the world, therefore, depends on substantial increases in the private sector and municipal investment. This is why Metito has been championing PPPs as a catalyst to achieve more in lesser time through encouraging impact investment.

Reuse of domestic and industrial wastewater can also help increase water availability as demand eventually outstrips supply in many countries. Recycled wastewater is particularly attractive as a potential source of water for irrigation and makeup water for industries.

“In Egypt, for instance, which is currently facing acute water shortages, Metito is working with the Egyptian government on several noteworthy projects across the water value chain; desalination, agricultural reuse, and wastewater treatment.

Technology
Technology has a role to play in tackling the global water scarcity issue in a sustainable way.

“From new physical technology—such as improved desalination processes and effective wastewater management—to the use of data to improve the management of water systems, technological advancements are supporting the protection of the world’s most valuable asset. With the help of technology, we are further able to analyse global water cycles, mapping water courses, and monitoring and mitigating the effects of floods and droughts, and proactively act accordingly,” he adds.

Desalination technologies are generally quite energy intensive. However, recent technological innovations could help in a significant reduction in energy costs associated with desalination technologies.

“At Metito, we are continuously investing in commercialising more efficient water treatment technologies, especially for desalination. Through our high-value engineering capabilities, our work with membrane technology providers and improving pump efficiencies, we were able to significantly reduce the KW/m3 from 4.5 in 2015 to 2.7 in 2022. Furthermore, solar is now increasingly being introduced in desalination plants in this part of the world to partially offset the energy intensity,” explains Juez.

Another innovative approach that Metito explored is floating desalination barges. While desalination facilities are usually built onshore, drawing upon its extensive expertise and experience, the company successfully delivered the world’s largest operating floating desalination barges for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Floating desalination barges provide the same benefits but stand several advantages. The cost of transferring seawater to the plant offshore (feed-water intake) and the price of the area holding the plant are significantly lower while there is the added advantage of having them easily towed to other locations – as needed. Floating barges also carry lower environmental footprints with waste liquid being further diluted onsite using existing seawater, thus offering additional protection to marine life.

Solutions
Given their extensive experience of 65 years, the company provides customised, comprehensive and advanced solutions across the full spectrum of the water industry; from clean to dirty water; desalination and re-use; industrial solutions (up to hyper pure water); investing in water and wastewater assets; and structuring both Greenfield and Brownfield schemes under project finance structures. We also provide custom alternative energy development and management solutions for utilities and corporations looking to uphold sustainable operations through generating clean, emissions-free energy.

Juez believes performing a root cause analysis at the start of each project is fundamental to its success. “We don’t believe in the one solution fits all approach and we deal with each project as a case study on its own. Our local presence in some of the most water-challenged markets across the globe gives us a total understanding of the local needs, challenges, and opportunities – which validates our solution recommendations,” he notes.

He further explains that high-value engineering helps optimise the cost of operations and with highly skilled and experienced engineers, this essential component sets the foundation for the sustainability of the project. Without proper planning taking into consideration multiple factors, budgets and restrictions, one cannot deliver a workable solution that is long-term and offers room for future expansion.

“Each of our projects is assessed through the lens of impact, sustainability, and innovation, built on the principles of a circular economy. Our experience, local presence, and ability to attend to customer requirements rapidly and efficiently, all add value to the projects we develop,” adds Juez.

Metito Projects
Juez highlights some of the recent projects in the pipeline for the company.

“We were recently appointed by Qatar’s Public Works Authority, Ashghal, as the lead developer of the country’s first public-private partnership for a sewage treatment project, Al Wakrah, and Al Wukair STW, alongside our partners Al Attiya Motors and Trading Company and Gulf Investment Corporation. The total cost of the project is more than 5.4 billion Qatari riyals. The contract is part of Ashghal’s efforts to develop and implement a sustainable drainage infrastructure across the country.”

In Serbia, Metito signed the first public-private partnership project in July this year for the realisation of a water treatment plant facility in the Republic of Serbia. Metito has been appointed by the City of Zrenjanin and Serbia’s Public Water Company (PWC), as the partner to develop, modernise and operate a state-of-the-art water treatment plant in the City of Zrenjanin.

“In Uzbekistan, we are developing the 100,000 m3/day wastewater treatment plant to serve the Namangan District. This is the first water project in the Republic of Uzbekistan that is implemented under the country’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) Law.

“In UAE, we are building the second phase of the Fujairah Port desalination plant. This is a significant project for Fujairah, given the port’s strategic location and sophisticated infrastructure which enables businesses across the region to expand their commercial footprints, both locally and internationally,” he concludes.

Source: Mechanical, Electrical & Plumbing