Inauguration of one of Europe’s largest MBR plants in Nicosia, Cyprus

The New Nicosia Waste Water Plant (NNWWTP) was inaugurated by EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle and Mr. Olivier Adam, UNDP Deputy Assistant Administrator and Deputy Director of the Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS along with Nicosia Mayor Constantinos Yiorkadjis and the representative of the Turkish Cypriot community of Nicosia Kadri Fellahoglu and other guests including previous mayors who were involved in the long-term project.

WTE signed the contract in February 2010 for the construction of the Mia Milia/Haspolat sewage system in Cyprus and subsequent 10-year operation.

The bi-communal project, a cooperation between the sewage authorities from North- and South-Nicosia, with an investment of approximately 25 million EUR has a capacity of 30,000 m³ per day, enough to cater for 270,000 residents. Due to the strict discharge values to be adhered to, the sewage is purified using a membrane component (MBR; membrane bioreactor process) so that the purified water can be reused for other purposes, such as irrigation. The NNWWTP will be one of the largest MBR facilities in Europe. WTE has also constructed the sludge treatment facilities, including the digestion, which includes a system to capture biogas. The biogas is used in combined heat and power plants to generate energy and heat.