Reclamation, rehabilitation of Al Karaana Lagoon completed

The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) on Saturday announced the completion of the Al Karaana Lagoon Reclamation and Rehabilitation Project. The announcement was made during a visit by Ashghal president Dr Saad bin Ahmad al-Muhannadi along with Assistant Undersecretary for Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) Ahmed Mohamed al-Sada, French ambassador Frank Gillet, officials from various ministries, CMC member for Constituency 22 and representatives of environmental organisations.

Dr al-Muhannadi said the project helped the Al Karaana Lagoon area to get transformed into a healthy natural environment. “It has become home to wildlife. Collective efforts to provide sustainable solutions to protect the environment and reduce the causes of pollution have yielded results,” he said.

Located 60km southwest of Doha, Al Karaana was once home to ten separate lagoons that had been receiving about 6,000 cubic metres of industrial wastewater per day since 2006. This resulted in the accumulation of sediments and solids at the bottom of the lagoons, and the formation of a contaminated layer (sludge) of up to 3.5m in some areas.

The project re-established the area by draining the old lagoons and treating the contaminated soil and sediments directly. One of the most important components of the project is the three artificial lagoons that are designed to store about 2.4mn cubic metres of treated water coming from Al Karaana treatment plant. With clean water and greenery, the artificial lagoons have become a new healthy habitat for wildlife, including birds, fish, frogs and others.

The project also included the construction of two temporary evaporation ponds for industrial effluent with a storage capacity of 1.2mn cubic metres of liquid waste. The ponds are protected with a strong insulating layer that prevents leakage of contaminated water into the groundwater.

The project also used a Mobile Thermal Drying Unit imported from the Netherlands especially to treat highly contaminated soil by heating it up to 400C. About 40,000 tonnes of sludge were treated and then moved to a landfill designed and built to the highest international standards.

Al-Sada said the project is a giant step in the race of the country towards achieving the goals of Qatar National Vision 2030.

Ambassador Gillet, who expressed his happiness for the great cooperation between France and Qatar, said Qatar, through this project, proved its commitment to preserve its environment as well as the global environment.

Khalid al-Kayareen, Drainage Networks Projects Department manager, said Ashghal accelerated the works despite the challenges especially those were related to managing and treating contaminated residues while continuing to receive liquid industrial waste at the same location.

Meanwhile, Ashghal organised a tree-planting activity during the Al Karaana Lagoon project site tour.

A group of students from Al Karaana Primary, Preparatory and Secondary Independent School for Boys participated.

The reclamation and rehabilitation project at Al Karaana Lagoon was implemented by French company Suez, while Egis provided the initial studies and design as well as consultancy services.

The main rehabilitation works were completed six months ahead of schedule, Ashghal said. The project was scheduled to be completed mid-2020.