Tri-Tech Holding, a provider of turn-key water resources management, wastewater treatment and pollution control solutions, said it has won a $8.3 million contract to provide a seawater desalination unit in Qatar.

Under the terms of the deal, Tri-Tech will provide a multiple effect thermocompression (MED-TC) desalination unit for the utility plant of Qatar Petrochemical Company (Qapco) at Mesaieed Industrial City in Doha.

Qapco is a JV between Industries Qatar (80 per cent) and Total Petrochemicals (20 per cent).

The seawater desalination unit will have a design capacity of 240 cubic metres per hour, said a company statement.

The work of scope covers design, engineering, fabrication, commissioning, performance testing and on-site training for Qapco technical personnel.

Tri-Tech US expects to deliver the desalination unit by November 2012, said its general manager Jim Schwartz.

'The desalination unit will use our unique MED-TC design, will be fully automated to require minimal operator attention and will operate efficiently at low temperatures to reduce scaling,' he noted.

Warren Zhao, the Tri-Tech CEO said this was the company's first thermal seawater desalination contract in the Middle East which signalled another significant step in its market expansion plan.

'This is also our third new contract outside China in 2011 following several municipal wastewater projects in India and an ultrafiltration water treatment contract in Canada.'

Phil Fan, co-president of Tri-Tech Holding said, 'Qatar is abundant with oil and natural gas. The economy depends heavily on export of oil natural gas, and related products. Presently, the country is greatly developing petrochemicals to boost its economy.'

'Qatar has no natural waterways and scarcity in fresh water, so almost all potable water and industrial processing water is desalted seawater,' he added.

According to him, Qatar plans to invest $75 billion in natural gas and petrochemical industries by 2012 and expects to upgrade its refining capacity to 18 million tons by 2016.

'Given the country's needs for fresh water for its people and industry demands for wastewater, water treatment and desalination, especially for use in the petrochemical sector, we will continue to enhance our marketing and sales effort in the Middle East,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service