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A subsidiary of China Power Construction Corporation (PowerChina) has won a contract to develop the water transmission system for a seawater desalination project in Iraq.

The project is known as the Basra Seawater Desalination Project (BSDP). The contract, awarded by Iraq’s Al-Ridha Group, is worth RMB8.925bn ($1.32bn), according to a statement from PowerChina.

The PowerChina subsidiary that secured the contract is China Water Resources & Hydropower Fifth Engineering Bureau Company.

Located in Iraq’s Basra Province, the project’s main scope involves designing and constructing a water transmission system with a daily supply capacity of 1 million cubic metres.

This includes approximately 240 kilometres of transmission pipeline, one main pumping station and nine receiving pumping stations.

The project duration comprises a six-month limited commencement period and a 1,350-day main construction period, followed by a 24-month defects liability period.

The contract has been signed, but work commencement is subject to certain preconditions, according to the statement.

Desalination projects

The contract signed with Al-Ridha Group is a subcontract for the water conveyance system under the wider Basra desalination project.

Iraqi officials have described the project as one of the world’s largest of its kind.

The BSDP is one of two major desalination projects currently under development in Iraq. The other is the Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP).

In September last year, Iraq’s state-owned Basra Oil Company and China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering signed a $2.5bn contract to build a 950km seawater pipeline network to supply a planned water processing facility that is part of the CSSP.

Austria’s ILF Consulting Engineers will supervise the project.

Water from the processing plant is expected to be injected into some of the country’s largest oil fields, including Rumaila, Zubair, West Qurna 1, West Qurna 2 and Majnoon. It is also expected to be used in the Maysan and Dhi Qar fields.

According to a statement from Iraq’s Oil Ministry, the injected water will help maintain reservoir pressure and sustain crude oil production at these fields.