São Paulo – Construction company Odebrecht started developing one of the main works in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, in March. The Brazilian construction company is building a sewage pumping station estimated at US$ 362 million, the largest contract signed by the Sanitation Company of Abu Dhabi, according to the Brazilian company. The contract was signed late last year, and works began in March this year. The schedule is for the project to be concluded in 2015.
The initial project forecasts construction of a structure 100 metres below ground level, to pump 39 cubic metres of sewage to a 44-kilometre pipeline. This sewage will be sent to Al Wathba treatment station. The project aims at generation of water for irrigation.
According to the construction company, the project is part of the Abu Dhabi environmental control plan for urban and industrial expansion by 2032. It will supply approximately three million people. According to the construction company, the sewage pumping station is the deepest in the world and will employ 1,000 people when operating at peak volumes. The project is budgeted at US$ 1.4 billion. The Brazilian construction company is in charge of approximately 25% of project budget.
This is not the first time that Odebrecht participates in a contract in the emirate. In 2006, it established a partnership with a local construction company, Al-Jaber, to build the second runway at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Odebrecht employs 40 people at its office in the Emirates.
Apart from the works, the company has other plans for the region. The construction company has already opened an office in Qatar, to host the 2022 World Cup, and stated that it is "evaluating possible operation in the infrastructure market” there.
*Translated by Mark Ament
