A new project will help secure sustainable water supply and infrastructure for 2.5 million people in Western Australia.
Jacobs has been selected by Water Corporation, the largest water utility in Western Australia, to design, build, operate and maintain the Alkimos Seawater Desalination Plant in Perth, Australia.
The project, part of an alliance with Water Corporation and ACCIONA, is expected to produce 13 billion gallons (50 billion litres) of drinking water per year, scalable up to 26 billion gallons (100 billion litres) under a future project.
Part of an overall programme by Water Corporation estimated at approximately $1.83bn (AUS $2.8bn), the plant will secure a climate-independent, sustainable water supply to more than 2.5 million Western Australians.
Commenting on the project win, Jacobs senior vice president Keith Lawson said: “This appointment strengthens our longstanding relationship with Water Corporation, delivering significant water and wastewater projects in the state. Furthermore, it recognises Jacobs’ global water capabilities, desalination experience and project delivery capability.”
In addition to the desalination facility, the project incorporates a 2.5 mile (4.1 kilometre) offshore outfall tunnel and 1.6 mile (2.6 kilometre) clean, seawater intake tunnel. Both tunnels are approximately 11.3 feet (3.45 metres) inside diameter and will be constructed beneath the seabed using tunnel boring machines.
Jacobs has been at the forefront of innovative desalination plant design, delivery and maintenance for decades, delivering the early-phase concepts for the Alkimos site. This follows Jacobs’ roles as the designer of the Sydney Desalination Plant, Gold Coast Desalination Plants and key roles in many more desalination facilities around the globe including Carlsbad in California and Tuas 3 in Singapore.
