Two major milestones for Malta in the water sector

The Water Services Corporation is delighted to announce that it has awarded the tender for the development of a state-of-the-art reverse osmosis in Gozo and that it has also issued another plus €10m tender to distribute new water in the south of Malta through a 43km network and 242 automated dispensers. Both projects form part of the Corporation's €130m major project that is part-financed by the European Union.

The Gozo Reverse Osmosis has been awarded to AST Clean Water Technologies for a total value of €11m including VAT. AST has a worldwide presence with headquarters in Israel. It worked on projects in Europe, China, the USA, South America, Africa and elsewhere. Its solutions are also supported by multinational cooperation of R&D centres based in Israel, Europe and the USA.

The Gozo project received the green light from the Planning Authority on 27 September and works will start as soon as possible after the required contracts are signed in the coming weeks. The Reverse Osmosis will have the capacity to produce 9,000 cubic metres of fresh high quality water per day.

Gozo has so far predominantly depended on ground water and on a submarine pipeline from Malta. This investment will offer the island of Gozo a secure supply and a drastically improved quality, while ensuring the sustainability of the island’s water table. The plant reaches impressive efficiency levels using just 3.1kwhr per metre cubed produced at a production cost of around €0.40c.

CEO Richard Bilocca explained how through this €11m investment “the water supply in Gozo will be second to none, in terms of quality, security, efficiency and sustainability. From day one upon completion, Gozitans, and the increasing number of visitors to the island of Gozo, will start benefiting from an improved service”. He also thanked the corporation’s workers for their incessant work. As part of WSC's global project over 200 tenders are in preparation with over half already adjudicated.

Another important link in this comprehensive project is the distribution of “new water”. The corporation has three plants that are recycling water to exceptional quality and channelling it for agricultural use. Two of these plants have been inaugurated in the past months and these are now being complemented with a more robust and intensive network. A tender that is projected to incorporate an investment of over €10m has just been issued and this will provide solid connections in a number of areas including parts of Xghajra, Zabbar, Kalkara, Marsascala, Zejtun and Marsaxlokk.

The Water Services Corporation has worked on the concept of providing a viable, high-quality alternative to groundwater abstraction for many years. The fruit of all the research and in-house design and construction by WSC’s technical experts is already improving the situation and will continue to help Malta’s environment and water sustainability, when at the same time giving a new lease of life to the agricultural community.