“HCL has set a new standard for the development of investment projects aimed at blueprint on how to develop integrated depollution reduction investment projects in the Mediterranean region.”
#Environment and Natural Resources, #Water & Waste Water, #Water-Energy-Food Nexus, #North Africa and Middle East
This project is about:
Preparation of a feasibility study to define technical scope and socio-economic assessment for this integrated depollution investment project. Funded by EIB (FEMIP).
| Context: part of the Horizon2020 initiative aiming to reduce pollution into the Mediterranean Sea. Loan financing secured from EIB and EBRD. Grant provided through NIF. | |
| Timeline: Feasibility Study carried out 2011-13. Implementation/construction period estimated to take for 4-5 years. | |
| € | Overall investment value: 70m EUR (cost of feasibility study, 1,060,000 EUR) |
Intervention 1 - Industrial pollution: the project includes environmental upgrading of all public owned industries in the area, including a steel works factory (El Fouledh), a cement factory (SCB) and a refinery(STIR).
Intervention 2 - Wastewater: upgrading and extension of sewer networks in the whole catchment area (100 Km of networks to upgrade, 150 km of new networks) and upgrading of the 3 existing WWTPs to improve efficiency and, where appropriate, extension to tertiary treatment including phosphorous and nitrogen abatement. A pilot wastewater system in a rural area was also studied. Only 50% of the full capacity of the WWTP is currently used. A total of 7,100 new households will be connected and an additional 450,000 m3/year of industrial wastewater treated as a result of the extension of the network. It is planned that secondary treatment facilities are renovated and one of the three WWTP is upgraded to tertiary treatment.
Intervention 3 - Solid waste: rehabilitation of the dumpsite located close to the town of M. Bourguiba to reduce the risk of leaching of industrial and household waste, mainly from the adjacent steelworks factory and illegal disposal, into the groundwater and the lake waters. The dumpsite of 140.000 m3 will be remodeled to avoid direct contact with the lake and covered with clay to avoid leaching caused by rainwater.
Intervention 4 - Coastal infrastructure works: field investigations and analyses conducted to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of an extensive dredging option and their potential negative impacts on sensitive wetlands and other fragile ecosystems in the area. As a result of the negative outcome of the assessment, only technical solutions for modest coastal works, including an artisanal fisheries port extension and approximately 50m of sea wall in the town of M. Abderrahmann were studied.