NEOM is the planned independent economic zone in the Northwest of Saudi Arabia. It is born based on the ambition of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 to see the country develop into a pioneering and thriving model of excellence in various and important areas of life.
The vision of NEOM is “The land of the future, where the greatest minds and best talents are empowered to embody pioneering ideas and exceed boundaries in a world inspired by imagination.”
Sixteen sectors are driving the implementation of NEOM’s vision: energy, water, mobility, biotech, food, manufacturing, media, entertainment/culture/fashion, technology/digital, tourism, sport, design/construction, services, health/well-being, education, and livability. Each sector will become an incorporated company under NEOM. Currently ENOWA is one of the first incorporated companies to be formed in NEOM which includes the Energy and Water sectors. NEOM will also be divided to regions in which some sector will service the region in the future. Current publicly announced regions include The Line, Oxagon and Trojena.
The planned 2020- 2030 NEOM Water infrastructure will include an estimated 31 Water Recycling Plants (WRPs) and Water Recycling and Recovery Plants (WRRPs) serving a population of approximately 3 million by 2030.
NEOM resides in the North‐western region of Saudi Arabia, and spans over 26,500 km².
Start Date |
: |
21/10/2021 |
Completion Date |
: |
30/01/2022 |
To support the development of critical wastewater infrastructure, the design and construction of a water recycling plant (WRP) at NEOM Circular City (NIC) Village serving predominantly domestic populations with average flows of 4,877 m3/d by 2024 according to the NIC Village Masterplan design team is required to support a key regional development. Beyond 2024, the population will plateau according to the NIC Village Masterplan design team and NIC proponents.
NEOM Circler City (NIC) occupies some 125,000 hectares to the southwest of the NEOM region and is one such New Future community. The Circle is the primary settlement within the NIC region, occupying some 3,060ha, which approximately half is on land. The Circle represents the industrial heart of NEOM and is focused around a high-performance port and logistics hub, bordered by manufacturing and R&D facilities. There will be a WRP in the Island Village to treat wastewater effluent from Village.
Figure 1 : NEOM Circular City
Figure 2: NIC Village location and proposed WRP location
NEOM Circular City Village STP will be a treatment plant serving purely domestic catchments from zone F.
Table 1: Summary of NIC Village Catchment Flow Characteristics
|
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2026 |
2028 |
2030 |
Resident Population, hesads |
0 |
950 |
7,898 |
14,744 |
14,744 |
18,000 |
Non-Resident Population, heads |
0 |
0 |
1,768 |
1,768 |
1,768 |
1,768 |
Population Equivalent, PE |
0 |
950 |
9,666 |
16,512 |
16,512 |
19,768 |
Avarage Daily flow, m3/d |
0 |
238 |
2,352 |
4,063 |
4,063 |
4,877 |
Max Daily Flow, m3/d |
0 |
356 |
3,528 |
6,095 |
6,095 |
7,316 |
Peak hourly Flow, m3/h |
0 |
30 |
294 |
508 |
508 |
610 |
The WRP shall be designed to treat average flows in line with high level phasing presented in Table 1 above. Special consideration shall be given during design to allow for initial low flow at the start of operations. Detailed phasing will be provided once FEED design commences. The design shall also include sufficient peak flow capacity to accommodate the flow of used water from the catchment at any time. The minimum peak factor to be applied is 3.
The consultant’s scope of work shall include:
Figure 3: Preliminary Design of ANO-1 of Neom WWTP
Figure 4: Column and Beam Design
Start Date |
: |
14/09/2022 |
Completion Date |
: |
24/01/2023 |
Al Bada is being developed as an accelerated Wastewater Treatment, Recycling and Innovation Hub to address wastewater treatment needs in the immediate and short-term, minimizing treatment cost, transport and environmental impact.
The existing Al Bada WRP is being rehabilitated and will provide wastewater treatment starting in Q3 of 2022 while regional WRPs are developed. The OXAGON Regional Biosolids Treatment Facility (RBTF) which was previously the Al Bada RBTF, will be part of the OXAGON WRRP. The RBTF will be a permanent asset processing biosolids in NEOM sometime in 2025; the expected commissioning date. In the meantime, an Interim Biosolids Facility is needed to treat all the biosolids that is being generated in NEOM. Therefore, additional enhancements are needed in Al Bada WRP to treat biosolids while the OXAGON WRRP gets designed and built. Additionally, there is an immediate need to design and build an Interim Innovation facility while the permanent innovation center is built in OXAGON WRRP sometime late 2025. The Interim Innovation Facility will allow NEOM to pilot technologies that will then be deployed in the Line and other NEOM regions. The Interim Innovation Facility will be located in Al Bada WRP as well.
Due to the rejection of the Al Bada RBTF and Innovation Center Land Use Permit by the NEOM Chairman, these interim facilities in Al Bada WRP are needed to ensure NEOM Water meets the following objectives:
Although the Al Bada RBTF will be relocated to OXAGON WRRP, FEED design inputs from the project shall inform the treatment capacity of the Al Bada Interim Biosolids Facility in Al Bada WRP. Similarly, the Al Bada Innovation Center design shall inform the Al Bada Interim Innovation Facility layout and facility. The Al Bada Innovation Center Pilot Technology Optioneering Study and Business Plan will also inform the treatment technologies to be selected for the Interim Innovation Facility, and hence the design of the Interim Biosolids Facility. Further details on the mentioned projects and studies are summarized in the sections below.
Figure 5: Existing Al Bada WRP
Due to the large transient population associated with construction in the NEOM region, a series of temporary construction villages to house construction workers are planned to be located within the region in close proximity to regional developments. Each construction village will have wastewater treatment facilities but at present there are no biosolids processing facilities currently in NEOM that can process the large volumes of biosolids that will be generated from these facilities. Additionally, all proposed permanent NEOM WRPs do not have means of treating biosolids. Without appropriate investment the disposal of these biosolids will result in a significant environmental impact with the potential to contaminate groundwater wells through dumping to land.
|
Unit |
Basis of Design |
||
Minimum |
Average |
Maximum |
||
Unthickened Sludge |
||||
Unthickened Sludge Flow |
m3/d |
416 |
1,806 |
2,512 |
Dry Solids Load |
kgDS/d |
2,888 |
12,522 |
17,417 |
Sludge Concentration |
%DS |
0.7% |
0.7% |
0.7% |
Sludge Density |
kg/m3 |
1,001 |
1,001 |
1,001 |
Dewatered Sludge |
||||
Dewatered Sludge Flow |
m3/d |
13 |
21 |
30 |
Dry Solids Load |
kgDS/d |
3,477 |
5,524 |
7,754 |
Sludge Concentration |
%DS |
25% |
25% |
25% |
Sludge Density |
kg/m3 |
1,035 |
1,035 |
1,035 |
The consultant’s scope of work shall include:
Figure 6: Daily Usage Diagram
Figure 7: Finite Elements Model of Innovation Center
Figure 8: Foundation 50 cm – M11 and M22 Moment Distribution Graphs
Figure 9: A view of concreate slab for steel framed structure
Figure 10: Sample photos of proposed Cedrus Libani (on the left) and Argania Spinosa (on the right)
Figure 11: Sample photos of proposed Juniperus Horizontalis (on the left), Caragana Arborescens (in the middle) and Buxus Sempervirens (on the right)
Start Date |
: |
17/11/2022 |
Completion Date |
: |
27/03/2023 |
Shushah Island WRP is being developed to treat the wastewater generated in Shushah Island development area, minimizing treatment cost, transport and environmental impact.
The design and construction of a WRP is needed to support a key regional development on Shushah Island.
The WRP will receive domestic wastewater with average flows of about 1,000 m3/day.
Indicative location of the WRP has been provided by the Master Planning team and are shown in figure below.
Figure 12: Proposed Water Recyling Facilities
The plant will be equipped with a wastewater tanker receiving facility while the wastewater network is developed.
The wastewater received will generate both recycled water and biosolids. The recycled water will be utilized on the island as landscape irrigation water and distributed initially through trucks while the recycled water network is constructed. Biosolids generated from the WRP will be barged off the island for further treatment at OXAGON WRRP. All trucking and barge activities will be monitored through a cloud-based system. Electric trucks and low-emission trucks will be utilized for all wastewater and biosolids movements.
This FEED design shall include process engineering, production of layouts, high-quality architectural renders and production of tender documentation. At this point, the project will be handed over to Projects for implementation.
In accordance with the water recycling strategy for island treatment, an MBR treatment process has been pre-selected on the basis of minimizing footprint and reliable production of high-quality recycled water in an area of high environmental sensitivity. However, the consultant should also execute a high-level verification/justification, whether MBR treatment technology is the most appropriate one for this project.
Wastewater will be conveyed from the residential areas via a combination of gravity sewerage systems and pumping stations. Similarly, recycled water shall be conveyed to landscaped areas for irrigation purposes. The network infrastructure packages will be delivered by others and interface coordination will be required during implementation. Greywater separation is proposed in DMP but will likely not be implemented.
The treatment process requirements are presented below:
Figure 13: Daily WW generation on Shushah Island
The consultant’s scope of work shall include:
Figure 14: Tank-1 SAP2000 Model 3D View
Start Date |
: |
17/11/2022 |
Completion Date |
: |
24/01/2023 |
Neom Oxagon Village Water Recyling project is a revised version of the NIC Village WRP Project.
The consultant’s scope of work shall include:
Figure 3: ANO1 Load Case Scenario Outpu