O&M support for Cairo Wastewater Project

Hyder Consulting is helping in the planning and implementation of the next step of the Greater Cairo Wastewater Project. The company will lead the O&M support for the project, working alongside the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the General Organization for Sanitary Drainage (GOSD) on the East Bank of the Nile.

The project comprises Drainage Area Planning (DAP), the development of a centralized maintenance workshop strategy and O&M support for the major wastewater facilities being operated by GOSD as part of the Greater Cairo Wastewater Project (East Bank Scheme).

Hyder will work as the DAP Project Manager, conducting a survey of 300,000 manholes as well as the structural review of all sewers on both the East and West Bank of the Nile. Mapping and hydraulic analysis of the whole of the Greater Cairo System will be required since the digital plans at the start of the project included only 35,000 manholes – with only 6,000 input into the Graphical Information System (GIS).

The project strategy includes selection and training of surveyors, hydraulic modellers and input technicians so that when the project is complete a Strategic Master Plan will be established. The GIS software is SUS 2000 and MOUSE is used for the hydraulic analysis.

Hyder is also advising on job specifications for the management, organization and structure of the new DAP department. It is intended that this will assist GOSD in its plans to secure long-term funding for the new department, which will decentralize the organization into separate DAP sectors.

The initial strategic programme for DAP will last two years, with data collection and input lasting five years. Other developments should extend certain aspects of the project to 2006.

The workshop strategy has been undertaken in two phases. The first established the location of central workshops and the second will involve the planning, relocation and procurement of new equipment. Engineers carried out assessment and inspection of existing workshops at 17 sites on the East Bank and southern sectors, and recommended that Ameria PS and Souk El Samak be the sites adopted. An inventory of equipment, tools and instruments was drawn up that should extend GOSD’s ability to locate equipment for maintenance and overhaul of the mechanical and electrical plant at East Bank pumping stations and WwTPs.

The Hyder team has advised on the requirements for operational, planned and preventative maintenance strategies for centralized workshops and maintenance teams. The strategy identified areas of work, requirements of a planned maintenance system and the centralized management philosophy.

The strategy’s aims are:

• Maximum utilisation of maintenance resources
• Greater control and availability of spare parts and materials for maintenance teams
• Establishment of specialist maintenance crews
• Management improvements of the maintenance function
• Improved cost control and budget forecasts

Hyder will implement Phase 2 of the workshop strategy, which includes preparing specifications and procurement requirements for additional equipment and manuals. A review of staffing levels and staff capabilities will also be undertaken.

It is expected that training for the workshop and centralized maintenance team staff will be conducted by GOSD ‘s in-house training services, possibly supported by other in-country agencies and by specialist trainers.

The overall review of O&M support required a specific review of the pumping stations at Ameria, Kossous and Khalag, and the WwTPs at Berka and Shoubra El Kheima. This review identified additional training requirements of GOSD mechanical and electrical engineers, including training on some of the largest screw pumps in the world.

The Implementation Plan will outline the needs for training for GOSD engineers in the following areas:

• On-site training by the plant and equipment manufacturers
• UK-based training by plant and equipment manufacturers
• UK-based training by Hyder will cover health and safety and training in the handling of chlorine gases and HV equipment
• Training by Hyder engineers based in Cairo at GOSD WwTPs

A one-year programme of procurement, training and provision of O&M support for engineers at GOSD sites will be managed by Hyder. In addition, Hyder will provide civil, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and process engineering assistance at both of the STPs, each with a 2M pe. This programme will include the GOSD engineers who will become part of the centralized maintenance team and who, therefore, will be responsible for specialist maintenance. The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of DFID.