The £10 million ($7.7 million) project to upgrade and expand Bahrain's second largest wastewater treatment plant in Sitra is a finalist in the 'Overseas Project of the Year' category of the Association of Project Managers' (APM) Awards.

The APM awards are given in recognition of the company's excellence in project management. The winner will be announced at an awards dinner and presentation in London next month.

The Sitra plant has created health, environmental and aesthetic benefits.

MWH, one of the world's longest established and leading environmental engineering firms providing water, wastewater, energy and environmental solutions, has helped the Bahrain to transform the aging wastewater treatment plant into a highly efficient facility.

MWH is working on the project with the Works Ministry through its local joint venture partnership company, Watson Khonji.

As project manager and technical advisor, MWH Watson Khonji will maintain its role throughout all phases with responsibility for initial concept design, detailed design, procurement, construction supervision and final commissioning.

Phase one of the project, which is completed and in service, involved constructing a new treatment plant alongside the existing one which remained in service during construction work.

This phase alone has significantly improved the effluent quality as well as relieving local flooding and alleviating marine pollution.

The second phase is now underway and involves converting existing assets for sludge treatment and TSE storage. This phase will further improve the quality of effluent and will involve recycling water for irrigation. Further environmental improvements are also planned including landscaping.

The MWH team was led by project manager Mark Catchpole, who said: "This has been one of my most challenging and rewarding projects. It has a long and complicated history and it is a real testimony to all involved that it is now nearing the stage where all the original plans and goals have come to fruition."

Works Ministry's Sanitary Engineering Operation and Maintenance Sewerage Treatment Plants head Amal A Majeed Al Aradi said: "It is a very professional job. If I have to rate it, I will give it five stars."-TradeArabia News Service