General Electric Company of Libya (Gecol ) has awarded Austria’s VA Tech Wabag a $19m contract to build four water treatment plants in Libya.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract will involve the construction of two demineralisation plants and two electro-chlorination plants, split between the three sites. The demineralisation plants will have a capacity of 60 cubic metres a day (cm/d), while one electro-chlorination plant will have a capacity of 71 cm/d, and the other will handle 35 cm/d.

The scope of works will include the planning, engineering, delivery, installation and start-up of the scheme. The plants are due to be operational by the fourth quarter of 2015 and will be built adjacent to the three existing power stations in Tobruk, Tripoli West and Derna. The facilities will provide water to feed the boilers of the adjacent power stations.

The project is one of several planned industrial water projects, as Libya seeks to rebuild its infrastructure and industries following the revolution in 2011. In early 2013, Libya’s Mellitah Oil & Gas Company (MOG) invited firms to prequalify for the EPC contract of a new water treatment facility at the Abu Attifel field.