Jordan’s Arab Potash Company (APC) is seeking to prequalify firms by 13 November for the construction and repair of dykes that contain pipelines transporting brine from salt pans from the Dead Sea to its potash production facilities in the south and west of the Lisan Peninsula.

Potash is a potassium-containing mineral that is a primary raw material in the global fertiliser industry.

The dykes (19 and 20), measuring 11.6 kilometres in length and about 14 metres in height, were damaged shortly after their construction and during the first impoundment of brine water from the solar evaporation pond (salt pan) SP-OB in 1999.

Lebanon’s Dar al-Handasah (Shair and Partners) has been commissioned to undertake detailed design of the rehabilitation and reinstatement of the dykes, which have been out of operation since the failure in 1999. The detailed design and scope of construction works are underway.

The contractor sought will be undertaking work classified into three main components including:

• Instrumentation and monitoring: Installation, reading and reporting of monitoring items during construction, during the impoundment of SP0B and long-term operation of the dykes
• Earthworks: This activity constitutes the major part of the contract works and involves bulk excavation and filling as well as treatment of the pond floor using geomembranes and granular filter layers
• Mechanical works: Installation of a new lifting station to transfer brine from pond SP-0B to SP-0A. The station is comprised of an intake pump, an outfall, an electrical substation, and pipelines. The pumps shall be installed on a steel platform supported on tubular steel driven pile

According to ABC, the breach in 1999 resulted in the loss of about 55 million cubic metres of brine water back into the Dead Sea in a short period of time. The flowing brine water caused the complete loss of 2.3km of the dyke.

The site of dykes 19 and 20 is characterised by special subsurface conditions including the presence of thick soft clay deposits that undergo substantial settlement when loaded, presence of multiple ground water aquifers, artesian pressure, and appearance of sinkholes related to continuous lowering in the Dead Sea level.