Adam Hartman
28 October 2009
History will be made today at 10h00 when President Hifikepunye Pohamba will switch on the main pump of Areva's Trekkopje Project Desalination Plant north of Wlotzkasbaken.
"Our baby has been growing for three years now, and now she's ready to walk," said Areva Project Director Alain L'Hour at a press briefing in Swakopmund yesterday.
"Tomorrow (today) will be a big day for us and for Namibia."
Areva vice president Enrico Barbaglia and CEO Anne Lauvergeon came to Namibia from France to participate in today's commissioning of the plant.
According to L'Hour, this will be the Areva group's first desalination plant linked to a mining operation. It already has desalination plants running with uranium reactors.
The seawater desalination plant will supply potable water to support the mining operations at Trekkopje, about 48 km inland.
Once completed, the plant will have the capacity to produce 20 million cubic metres of potable water per year, using state-of-the-art technology in screen filtration, ultra filtration, reverse osmosis and chemical treatment.
According to L'Hour, the plant has now entered its final commissioning stage, and tests will be carried out until mid-2010, when it will start producing desalinated water. Full production will start in the first half of 2011.
Dr Kuiri Tjipangandjara, NamWater's General Manager: Engineering and Scientific Services, told The Namibian recently that the Areva plant could play an important role in the region's short-term water needs, as water resources in Erongo were in a critical state.
He said his company was in discussions with Areva over NamWater's wish to use the excess water from the new plant, which will provide short-term "breathing space" from 2011 to 2013.
However, because of the location of the Areva plant and the difficulty in transporting large volumes of water, the Areva plant cannot replace the desalination plant NamWater wants to build at Mile 6.
"All in all, the Areva plant will be a valuable source that we cannot ignore in our quest to quench the nation's thirst," Tjipangandjara said.
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