Dubai’s largest sewage treatment plant can now be remote-controlled!

A huge step forward to enhance the region’s sustainability.

The Jebel Ali Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) Phase 2 built by our team from the Water & Effluent Treatment IC is Dubai’s largest with a capacity to treat 375 million litres of sewage daily, designed to meet current and future demand generated from the surrounding areas. With the newly inaugurated Command Control Centre (CCC), this state-of-the-art STP can now be comprehensively monitored and controlled remotely, all at the click of a button.

For Project Director, Syed Abdul Noor, this is an icing on the cake having delivered a complex and difficult project ahead of time to a satisfied client, the Dubai Municipality. “All the various components of the STP like sewage lines, valves, pumps, electrical distribution panels and such like can be remotely operated,” he shares, “but most critically, this facility will speed up technical decision making in the event of any fractures in the network lines or faults in the valves, pumps or any other component. Considering the size, spread and scale of the STP such a modern system with smart applications was required to operate it efficiently.”

Built in partnership with Besix, construction of the STP began in March 2016 and it was commissioned in March 2019, one month ahead of contractual delivery date and constructed with utmost safety with the project clocking 10 million safe man hours in the process. The STP has long sewerage network lines of different diameters amounting to 3 million linear meters, ten main pumping, 56 sub-pumping stations and two STPs in Jebel Ali and Al Warsan.

The CCC up close

A large video wall in the CCC streams real time data about all the connected equipment through a master SCADA system. The pumping stations, valves and other equipment are connected to the CCC through a wired private IP internet connection and GSM-based SIMs are a backup to ensure seamless data transfer. A comprehensive database enables supervisors to analyse data, submit reports and evolve quick solutions. There are planning maintenance programmes too that ensure the optimal use of the properties.

Furthering the ‘green’ mission

With water becoming such a precious commodity the world over, projects like these will make a huge difference to the ecology of the UAE which is why the Jebel Ali STP is critical to the water conservation plans of the Dubai Municipality. It will help the city of Dubai reduce the use of expensive fresh water by reusing 375,000 litres per day treated sewage effluent for non-potable applications such as irrigation.

The plant ensures true zero discharge by converting the by-products generated through the treatment process into useful resources. The major by-product is sludge that is anaerobically digested while the solid sludge is pelletized and used as fertilizer.

A legacy for the UAE from L&T, the Jebel Ali STP continues to efficiently clean and green Dubai!