ACCIONA has been awarded the operation and maintenance of twelve wastewater plants (WTPs) in the Alto Minho Interior area of Portugal for seven years, with a possible extension of another three years. The contract is for €11,78 million.

The facilities are located at Arcos de Valdevez, Ponte da Barca, Ponte de Lima, Melgaço, Monção, Valença and Paredes de Coura. They have total capacity for a population equivalent of 108,402, plus 66 wastewater pumping stations and 144 kilometres of pipework.

Among the proposals presented by ACCIONA are actions in the field of sustainability to reduce the levels of residue produced, reagents used, and the energy consumption of the external network, both of its own plants and in the pumping stations. The company will also make proposals to help reduce the environmental impacts associated with the operation of the sanitation systems, as well as the application of new procedures to increase the reliability of the facilities.

Some of the treatment plants included in the award have been constructed by ACCIONA, for example, Arcos de Valdevez, Ponte da Barca, Ponte de Lima, and Barbeita.

This is the first contract ACCIONA has received from Águas do Norte for the operation and maintenance of its infrastructures. ACCIONA was recently awarded the ultrafiltration treatment of wastewater in the plant at Vilamoura (Algarve) and those at Carvalhal in Mafra, a town in the District of Lisbon.

LONG-STANDING EXPERIENCE

ACCIONA has participated in the construction of more than 70 infrastructure projects in Portugal, one of its main international markets. Among these are the Estación de Oriente (Lisbon), the Infante Don Henrique bridge over the River Duero between Vila Nova de Gaia and Porto, the marina at Olhão, close to the city and part of the Formosa Estuary Natural Park, one of the greatest environmental resources in the Algarve, and the Alqueva dam on the River Guadiana, in Alentejo.

In the water sector, the company has constructed more than 30 wastewater and potable water drinking plants. We would highlight the plant at Alcantarilha, which provides drinking water to the Algarve with a maximum production capacity of around 260.000 m³ per day, or the Sul-Ilhavo WTP in Aveiro, which has a daily capacity of almost 39,300 m³.

Also notable are the Faro-Olhão WTP, located two kilometres east of Faro, with a capacity of over 28,000 m³ per day; the Companheira WTP in Portimão (Algarve), with a capacity of over 32,000 m³ or the Ermidas do Sado WTP, which will provide a service to a population equivalent of 4,100 in the district of Setúbal, in the centre-south of the country.