A Hyflux spokesperson confirmed to WDR that the Singapore-based company has begun the commissioning and testing of the 500,000 m3/d (132 MGD) Mactaa SWRO plant in northwest Algeria, near Oran. Electrical power has only just been supplied to the site.
The Mactaa (also spelled “Magtaa”) project’s capital cost is $468 million, and it was awarded to Hyflux under a 25-year build, own and operate contract at a water cost of $0.56/m3 ($2.12/kgal) in March 2008. It achieved financial closure in March 2009, with Hyflux’s equity stake in the project set at 47 percent, and with Algerian Energy Company holding the remainder.
A July 2011 warehouse fire at the site, when the project stood at 80 percent complete, caused an estimated $50 million in damages, necessitating the purchase of new SWRO membranes and other components, which delayed the plant’s startup.
The plant employs Hyflux’s Kristal UF membranes for pretreatment, Toray’s SWRO membranes, and Energy Recovery’s TurboCharger energy recovery devices.