The Spanish cabinet, on Tuesday, awarded the Sociedad Estatal Aguas de las Cuencas Mediterráneas (the State Company AcuaMed), a contract worth approximately €108 million for the expansion works and operation, as well as the maintenance service of the Torrevieja desalination plant. The facility is located in Alicante, in the southeast of Spain, and is one of the largest desalination plants in Europe.

AcuaMed will be responsible for expanding the Torrevieja desalination plant to increase its production capacity from 80 Hm3/year (240,000 m3/day) to 120 Hm3/year. The contract also includes the operation and maintenance of the desalination facility while the works are being carried out and for a subsequent period to ensure the correct start-up and integration of the new expansion works into the plant.

The base budget for the tender is €118 million: execution of the works, €70 million; operation and maintenance, €47 million.

The construction is scheduled to take two years to complete.

Aguas de las Cuencas Mediterráneas, S.M.E.,S.A., (Acuamed), is a public company belonging to the Spanish state, which reports directly to the Ministry for Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and the Environment of the Spanish government.

Source: Smart Water Magazine