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- Sustainability : Commissioning of the new plant will help the region cope with reduced rainfall and population growth
An ACCIONA-led consortium has been selected as the preferred proponent by Water Corporation, the largest water utility in Western Australia, to design, build, operate and maintain the future Alkimos Seawater Desalination Plant (ASDP) in Perth for ten years. The plant will have an initial (Stage 1) capacity of 150,000 m³ per day, with an additional 150,000 m³ per day, when required, under Stage 2.
The Stage 1 design and construct project is scheduled to deliver drinking water in 2028, as part of an overall Water Corporation program of works valued at AU$2.8 billion (€1,724 million) to secure drinking water to millions of Western Australians.
The project will be delivered as an alliance, comprising of Water Corporation, ACCIONA and Jacobs, and has safety and wellbeing at the forefront of delivery, as well as embedding sustainability in the design, delivery and operations of the plant.
The commissioning of ASDP - to be built within the Alkimos Water Precinct - will help the region manage the combination of declining rainfall and population growth. Since 1970, winter rainfall in southwest Western Australia has decreased by about 20 per cent while Perth’s population - currently 2.12 million - is expected to reach 2.9 million by 2031 and 3.5 million by 2050, making it Australia’s third largest city and significantly increasing the demand for drinking water.
LOCAL LEADERSHIP
ACCIONA was established in Australia in 2002 and has become one of the country’s leading infrastructure companies.
In 2009, the company was awarded one of its most emblematic projects in Australia, the Adelaide desalination plant. The plant has a capacity of 300,000 m³ per day and serves a population of two million. It was the first of its kind in the country, incorporating advanced pre-treatment to improve energy efficiency and increase the recovery of treated water for human consumption.
In 2011, ACCIONA was awarded its first water project in Western Australia, consisting of the design, build, operation and maintenance of the Mundaring Water Treatment Plant, which provides water into the Goldfields, one of the state´s nine region.
Beyond the water sector, ACCIONA is developing many large infrastructure projects in the country. . Recently, it was selected by the Government of Victoria to build the first series of tunnels for the Suburban Rail Loop East project in Melbourne, as part of the Suburban Connect consortium with CPB Contractors and Ghella. The AU$3.6 billion (€2.2 billion) contract will transform Melbourne’s public transport network, mange the city’s growth and reduce the number of vehicles on the road.
In 2023, ACCIONA was also awarded the AU$1.4 billion (€850 million) contract to build the eastern section of the HumeLink electricity transmission line in New South Wales. The company is also designing and building the Western Harbour Tunnel, valued at approximately AU$4.24 billion (€2.746 billion), the largest construction contract in ACCIONA’s history, which recently commenced tunnelling.
Other major contracts in the country include the construction of the runway at the new Western Sydney International Airport (Nancy Bird Walton); the central section of Sydney Metro West, the new underground railway that runs through much of the country’s largest city; and the removal of level crossings on the Frankston railway line in Melbourne.