South East Water, the authority in charge of water, sewage and recycled water services in south east Melbourne Victoria has selected John Holland Suez Beca. The contract includes design and construction of the plant upgrade for a total investment of about €80m.
Under the contract, the joint venture will also be responsible for the operations of the plant for 10 years.
The construction phase will begin next February and it will increase the plant’s capacity to 31,200 m3 wastewater per day from the present 14,300 m3 per day. Suez stated that the upgrade contract can help in coping with the present and future population growth in the Mornington Peninsula region.
Additionally, the upgrade can help in securing the supply of secure recycled water to local farmers to be used in irrigation.
The joint venture of John Holland Suez Beca will modernize the plant by installing a range of new treatment technologies designed to reduce South East Water’s reliance on grid electricity. This can also help in achieving the utility’s emission reduction targets of 45% by 2025.
South East Water managing director Terri Benson said: “The Boneo Water Recycling Plant upgrade will support the continued growth of the Mornington Peninsula. It will also move us significantly closer to our emissions reduction targets, and our commitment to customers to protect our environment.”
The French utility company stated that it will deploy its Cleargreen Mainstream wastewater treatment technology. This technology can reduce oxygen consumption by 50% compared to conventional treatment and can increase biogas production, which will be used to generate electricity to be supplied to the plant.
Suez Africa, Middle East, India, Asia and Australia Group Senior Executive vice president Bertrand Camus said: “We are proud to implement in Australia innovative treatment solutions that design the wastewater treatment plant of tomorrow, recovering wastewater into valuable resources (water and energy).
“This collaboration with John Holland, Beca, and South East Water illustrates our commitment to support cities in their transition to a circular economy and sustainable growth.”
