Egypt is a fast growing population with expected increase in the population by 40 million people by 2050. As a dry nation; Egypt relies on the Nile and ground water for irrigation but with a limited share of the Nile and very little reusable of ground water, the country is focusing on Waste water treatment Projects to save water and boost productivity of the land.

As Egypt is witnessing the lowest ever register water share per capital in the country in centuries; The Government is moving in a completely different direction to avoid wasting of cubic meters every year through waste water treatment to save water and utilizing modern technologies and improving the irrigation of the farmlands as the irrigation were at risk of contamination due to the untreated agricultural, industrial and municipal wastewater. The BAHR AL BAQAR waste water treatment plant shall be the largest in Africa and one of the largest in the world; the project capacity is 5 million m3/d. The plant comprises four water treatment lines with a daily processing capacity of 1,250,000 cubic meters each. The treated water will be used to irrigate 140,000 hectares of farmland alongside the Suez Canal. The Project shall improve in the irrigation of the farmlands. KRAH MISR were selected for the production of the spiral wound PE-100 pipes for the project; KRAH MISR established under license from KRAH AG, a German machine manufacturer with over 35 years of experience in the design, development and construction of production plants for large diameter pipes and fittings with all different kinds of sizes and stiffness. KRAH MISR supplied the 2.7km of 1600 mm and 2500 mm spirally wound PE 100 large-diameter pipes for the waste water treatment plant, low pressure application (2.2 bar) and tested accordingly by identifying BorSafe™ HE3490-LS as the best material for the production. BOROUGE collaborated with KRAH MISR in the production of the pipes while using BorSafe™ HE3490-LS as it will enable the production of the large spiral wound pipes due to its superior properties. BorSafe™ HE3490-LS is classified as PE100 material which it is an excellent material for waste water treatment pipelines as demonstrated in multiple regional projects; The benefits of PE100 for such an application are:

• Low installation cost – Because PE100 is flexible and lighter in weight compared to other systems. PE100 is also tougher when compared to other materials, installation time using PE100 is significantly shorter which directly reduces costs.
• Low maintenance cost – Due to the corrosion and chemical resistance during the operational life of the pipeline, maintenance cost will be minimal. Because PE100 can tolerate ground movements better than rigid pipeline, it is less likely to crack during its operational lifetime.
• PE-100 Pipes smooth internal bores facilitating superior flow properties, high operational safety, low tendency to fouling, significantly better abrasion behavior than metal pipe materials, good weldability, and consistently low leakage rates lead to an excellent performance throughout its full life cycle.
• PE-100 Pipes are sustainable Products – from low energy requirements during production of the pipes to the lower carbon footprint through their whole life cycle than other materials; also the possibility of recycling after the whole life cycle make it better for the environment.  

After the successful completion of this project, Mr Peter Youssef, General Manager of KRAH MISR remarked, “As the pioneer producer of large spirally wound HDPE pipes in Egypt, KRAH MISR is proud to have successfully delivered one of the largest spirally wound pipes in the country. We are glad to have partnered with Borouge in this aspect.”

Author: Peter Youssef, Krah MISR