Construction of Gilan wastewater treatment plant officially went into its second phase in a ceremony attended by deputy energy minister, Sattar Mahmoudi, during the cabinet's provincial visit to the northern Gilan Province.
The project was carried out in an area of more than 10 hectares with an initial investment of 1,680 billion rials ($50.4 million), in the form of build-operate-transfer (BOT). The contract is for a period of 24 years, stipulating four years for construction, and 20 years for the investor to operate the plant, managing director of Gilan Water & Wastewater Co., Kazem Lotfi, was quoted by Fars News Agency as saying.
"National projects should not be reliant on government resources; rather they ought to be implemented with private investment through engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) or BOT contracts," reiterated deputy energy minister.
Under an EPC contract, the contractor not only designs the installation and procures the necessary materials but also completes the project. Once an EPC contract is signed, the contractor becomes liable for finishing the project according to the tender conditions. The EPC contractor, in turn, may hire sub-contractors or sub-vendors to get the job done.
BOT or build–own–operate–transfer (BOOT) is a form of project financing, wherein a private entity receives a concession from the private or public sector to finance, design, construct, and operate a facility stated in the contract, enabling the project proponent to recover its investment, operating and maintenance expenses in the project.
Gilan wastewater treatment plant, with a total capacity of 6,000 liters per second, is the biggest in the north of the country. Capacity of the second's phase is 3,000 liters per second and is to be built in three years. The plant's first phase has gone into full operation and will be overhauled for a period of one year following the completion of second phase. It will be operating at full capacity in the fourth year.
Once fully operational, Gilan wastewater treatment plant will cover 14 cities, almost 70 percent of Gilan Province's population.
