To be built within the Alkimos Water Precinct, the seawater desalination plant will have a stage 1 capacity of 150,000m³ per day

Alkimos desalination plant

Water Corporation selects Acciona-led consortium to build Alkimos desalination plant in Australia. (Credit: ACCIONA)

A consortium led by Acciona has been chosen as the preferred proponent by Western Australian water utility Water Corporation to develop the Alkimos seawater desalination plant (ASDP) project in Perth, Australia.

The Australian desalination plant project will be delivered as an alliance made up of Acciona, Water Corporation, and Jacobs.

The Acciona-led consortium will design, build, operate and maintain the future Alkimos facility for ten years.

To be constructed within the Alkimos Water Precinct, the seawater desalination plant will have an initial capacity of 150,000m³ per day under stage 1.

Once required, the Alkimos facility will increase its capacity by another 150,000m³ per day under stage 2.

At its full capacity, the Australian desalination plant is expected to deliver 100 billion litres of clean, safe drinking water to millions of Western Australians each year.

Stage 1 of the Alkimos seawater desalination plant is scheduled to deliver drinking water in 2028.

It is part of a larger Water Corporation programme, which is valued at A$2.8bn ($1.84bn) with an aim to ensure access to safe drinking water to millions of Western Australians.

Stage 1 will include a 50 billion litres per year desalination plant, an ocean intake pipeline, an ocean discharge pipeline, and a 33.5km pipeline to supply drinking water produced by the plant.

It will also have built-up, vegetated sand dunes on the western side of Alkimos Water Precinct and the provision for a groundwater treatment plant with a capacity of 4.9 billion litres per year along with local bores.

According to Acciona, the commissioning of the Alkimos plant will help the region in managing the declining rainfall and growth of population.

Last year, Acciona and its partner Genu were selected by Australia’s New South Wales grid operator Transgrid to build the eastern section of the HumeLink power transmission line.