Due to the continuous growth and development in Qatar and consequently the huge increase in water demand, Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (KAHRAMAA) has launched an ambitious water project to provide seven days strategic water storage within its network system. To catch a glimpse of the inner workings of the business behind this ambitious project, Endeavour Magazine spoke with Eng. Ali Mohamad Al-Ali.

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KAHRAMAA

Eng. Ali Mohamad Al-Ali explains that the core areas of business for KAHRAMAA revolve around the selling and distribution of electricity and power through PWPA (Formulated Power

and Water Purchase Agreements), through which they provide necessary technical and corporate support for the establishment of generation and desalination ventures. Secondly, they own, construct and operate electricity and water transmission and distribution networks in the State of Qatar.

“We also set up plans and development programmes, influence regulations, standards and codes of practice and provide consultancy services related to all our activities and operations.”

It is not only about being the source of power and water to the country but also providing the best service to ensure that the customers are able to use this as efficiently and strongly as possible.

“Our mission is to provide the highest qualities of both electricity and water for better and more sustainable living in Qatar.”

“It is our mission that by 2030, our people, assets, systems and processes will set a global benchmark for performance, technological innovation, environmental sustainability and social responsibility in the electricity and water sector,” he explains.

Eng. Ali Mohamad Al-Ali, a man with many years experience within this sector, highlights that it is not enough for a company to provide a service or product to their customers and that how one does this is just as important and KAHRAMAA is very adamant when it comes to its values.

“Our customer focus and centricity is best described as relentless,” he explains, “We place the customer’s needs at the heart of our decision-making process.”

He goes on to further explain that they keep to the highest standards of performance and responsiveness to meet the needs of the company itself and its stakeholders and to ensure a high level of transparency to conduct business activities in an open manner so that they may foster trust from employees and customers alike.

“Loyalty is particularly important,” he emphasises, “Only with loyalty can you develop the teamwork that is necessary to truly carry a company forward into the future and to continue being a company that we are all proud of.”

And while the company is first and foremost a private business, its objectives are aimed as much at providing the best range of services to its customers by making use of the latest technologies and methods as strengthening their financial performance.

“Our staff are some of the most regarded and best trained in the industry,” Eng. Ali Mohamad Al-Ali says, “And this is not a happy accident but rather a direct result of us involving them in an environment of ongoing training and development and strong customer focus.”

Of course, a business can only be judged on the projects it is involved in and KAHRAMAA have a catalogue of successful endeavours to choose from.

“Recently we closed the fifth phase of a distribution network extension which we have been working on since August 2013,” Eng. Ali Mohamad Al-Ali tells us, “This covered a range of 165 kilometres, which involved the extension and looping of DI pipes ranging between 100mm to 900 mm thick.”

There is another project, the currently open Mega Reservoirs, where KAHRAMAA is working closely with a number of businesses offering project management services that include the reviewing of design and tender documents for the Mega Reservoirs construction packages prepared by the detailed design and site supervision consultant. They will also be performing technical evaluations in pre-construction stages, acting on behalf of KAHRAMAA in managing the project, establishing and applying a full management, control and reporting system for the project and ensuring completion of the project successfully.

The objective of the Water Security Mega Reservoirs Project is to provide seven days of potable water storage in the new mega reservoirs and the existing and future secondary reservoirs, preserving the water quality as per KAHRAMAA and World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

The first phase of the project will provide the seven days of storage for the expected water demand at horizon 2026, with five mega reservoir sites. The second phase will provide the seven days of water storage for expected demand in 2036 by adding additional reservoirs within the five mega reservoirs sites.

KAHRAMAA

For a company established in July 2000, KAHRAMAA finds itself in a privileged role of being the sole transmission and distribution system owner and operator for the electricity and water sector in Qatar. For the past 15 years it has made good use of its position as an independent corporation and maintained the supply of electricity and water to its customers on a commercial basis. Having started with a total capital of eight billion Qatari Riyals it has, over the last decade, grown and developed strongly.

KAHRAMAA

The project entails construction of five potable water mega reservoirs sites and the interconnecting network of large diameter water pipelines. Each reservoir site will ultimately comprise of up to nine reservoirs, each of which will be the largest of their type in the world.

Mega reservoirs and pumping stations will be constructed at five strategic locations along the Qatar National Utility Corridor. The first phase of the project, which is currently under implementation, will deliver storage capacity of about 2,300 million gallons of water in 24 huge concrete reservoirs and some 480km of buried ductile iron pipelines with diameter upto 1.6m.

Eng. Ali Mohamad Al-Ali indicates that the second stage of the project, which will be implemented after 2020, will include construction of additional pipelines and 16 new reservoirs within the five mega sites, to achieve an ultimate total storage capacity of about 3,800 million gallons of water.

On the electricity front, Qatar’s phase 11 power transmission expansion project recently received a massive boost when KAHRAMAA awarded a contract for three substations to Siemens. This contract reveals that Siemens will supply three 132/11kV substations as part of the Phase 11 of the power transmission expansion project and in addition to the turnkey construction of three substations, Siemens has won a separate contract for air-insulated switchgears too.

The first substation, Al Wukair-1, is located at Al Wakra Stadium Boulevard approximately 10km from Doha and the second, Al Heedan, will be at the proposed Al Khor Stadium while the third, Learaig, is to be constructed at Salwa Beach Resort near Qatar’s border with Saudi Arabia.

With the goal for all three substations to be completed within 15 months, they will provide a power supply for residential, commercial and industrial applications in Qatar, including two new sports stadiums.

“Efficient and reliable power transmission is fundamental to a sustainable, environmentally sympathetic energy system,” said Fatih Sakiz, CEO of Siemens WLL in Qatar. “Qatar is experiencing rapid industrial, economic and population growth, and we are proud to be continuing our work with KAHRAMAA to develop an electricity network that supports the development ambitions of the country’s Vision 2030.”

Each of the turnkey 132kV substations comprises of Siemens 8DN8 132kV gas-insulated switchgear, four 40MVA power transformers, two boards of 11kV switchgears, station auxiliary transformers, complete protection and substation control system, associated LV, power and control cables and high-voltage cable diversion works.

Siemens’ additional contract by KAHRAMAA for 654 NX Air 11kV air-insulated switchgears is inclusive of protection for secondary distribution for greater reliability and stability of Qatar’s electricity network. These unique Siemens switchgears will be implemented over a two-year period.

The Qatar Power Transmission System Expansion project has been devised to meet the growing demand for electricity, as the country continues to witness rapid development. KAHRAMAA’s expansion projects aim to ensure a stable power supply to all sectors, including households, business centres, shopping malls, hospitals and schools throughout Doha and its suburbs.

SUSTAINABILITYFor obvious reasons, sustainability is a crucial part of

KAHRAMAA’s philosophy and they have joined the leading organisations across the world in gaining Global Reporting Initiative- 4 (GRI-4) for its sustainability reporting.

It constitutes a commitment, by the sector, to the implementation of economic, human, social and environmentally sustainable development as envisaged in the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the Qatar National Development Strategy 2011-2016.

KAHRAMAA has also bagged the “Excellence in the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Social Value” Award for achieving excellence and aligning its objectives with the Qatar National Vision 2030.

The award was given to recognise the efforts of KAHRAMAA’s Tarsheed initiatives for supporting corporate social responsibility activities in Qatar, spreading mass awareness about the rational use of water and electricity.

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KAHRAMAA

“The prime target of Tarsheed is to reduce the per capita water and electricity consumption in Qatar by 35% and 20%, respectively until 2017,” Eng. Ali Mohamad Al-Ali explains.

NEW ENERGY, NEW IDEASQatar is set to be transformed into a regional solar hub with its

first solar power facility, thanks to KAHRAMAA.The solar power station is expected to be operational by 2016,

with a generation capacity of 10MW to 15MW and the facility, which will cover an area of more than 100,000m², will be located at Duhail.

Remarking on the announcement, Expotrade Middle East regional director Brad Hariharan said, “With ample amounts of renewable resources at its disposal, the GCC region is harnessing the power of renewable energy technologies to its full potential. The state of Qatar has set a benchmark with its implementation of massive, innovative programmes for the deployment of large solar power plants.”

The GCC has seen rapid growth in renewable energy generation and consumption, with Qatar leading the region and being supported by innovative research and infrastructure development plans. Deployment of new renewable energy initiatives has ensured that the small Gulf country has become a primary producer of solar energy, enhancing its sustainability drive.

Being the most abundant and viable energy source, solar energy effectively addresses the increasing power requirements in the region, as the ongoing construction projects ramp up in the shadow of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

KAHRAMAA has targeted a generation capacity of 200MW through solar power by 2020.

The Government has implemented numerous solar energy projects, including large-scale solar power plants, solar desalination projects and solar panel manufacturing plants in line with the country’s goal to promote sustainability and diversity, while focusing on environmental awareness and reducing dependency on fossil fuels.

The Solar-Smart Grid project, an initiative of the Qatar Foundation (QF), is also the first commercial photovoltaic (PV) project to be granted approval for grid connection from KAHRAMAA. According to industry approximations, QF’s solar energy smart-grid-enabled systems generate up to 85% of Qatar’s total solar energy output.

Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute (QEERI) announced its plans to set up a solar map by 2016, which will assist in identifying areas across the country that receive high-intensity solar radiation, with the aim to install solar cells for power generation.

Five solar stadiums for the 2022 World Cup will use ground-breaking solar-powered cooling technology to enhance the use of renewable energy.

However, while the country has exceptional solar energy potential, price competitiveness and the lack of a renewable energy policy framework poses a challenge to the growth of the solar power in the region.

“However, because it is valuable, it is a challenge we will accept,” he concludes.