Derna Desalination Plant Project, located in Derna city in eastern part of Libya, was in part of a development plan implemented by General Electricity Company of Libya, in the period of 40th Anniversary preparations of Libyan Leader, to cover high demand of reliable water sources in eastern part of Libya.

Undertaken by ENKA the project consisted of engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up of a 2×20.000 m³/day Water Production Plant with two type of fuel, Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) and Light Fuel Oil (LFO), complete with all Balance of Plant (BOP) systems. Heavy fuel oil (HFO) is used as main fuel for MED Desalination Plant operation whereas; light fuel oil (LFO) are used as back-up fuels. The project consists of a redundant sea water intake system of which complete basic and detailed engineering was included in EPC scope of the project.

Main process and equipment, MED evaporators, boilers and auxiliaries are supplied by Sidem (Veolia, FR) as consortium partner of the project.

The project included the construction of  a water distribution network line with water storage tanks.

Derna Desalination Plant was expected to address the growing demand for water in eastern part of the country and supply reliable water to public.

Sea water intake onshore system construction needed micro piling implementation to eliminate excessive amount of water flows through subsoil cracks. The micro piling system was carefully designed by ENKA to overcome natural difficulties. As part of the EPC Contract, ENKA through its piling specialist subsidiary Kasktaş have installed Ø340 mm micro piles in 685 pcs in total.

Offshore portion of sea water system was challenge in eastern Mediterranean Sea under unexpected open sea conditions. The design and implementation of offshore portion were performed with appropriate design margins and redundancy requirements.

The project site is located in Derna city in the eastern part of Libya in a relatively high populated area. ENKA, while executing the work, successfully managed cultural relations with locals to avoid any clashes and maintained good relations with its neighbors.

Such regional location and high temperatures during summer months created unique challenges for the project workforce peaked at 450 people.

ENKA has self performed the basic engineering, detail engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, start-up and performance testing scope for the project utilizing in-house resources on a lump sum turn-key basis. Specific scope of services provided by ENKA included; complete basic and detailed design and engineering of the plant, supply of all balance of plant (BOP) systems and equipment, all civil works including foundations and structural steel, Product Water Tanks (2×20.000 m³), Make Up Water Tank (1×500 m³), HFO Tanks (1×20.000 m³, 1×5.000 m³), 2×40.000 m³/day sea water intake system including 20 kg/hr electro-chlorination system, 2×1.000 m HDPE offshore sea water intake piping (dia. 1400 mm), complete interconnecting piping of the plant, fire fighting system, MV/LV electrical & control and switchgear systems with aux. transformers, instrument and plant air supply systems, Emergency Diesel Generators, waste collection and treatment system, batteries and UPS System, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, overhead cranes and maintenance hoists, power plant distributed control system (DCS), mechanical and electrical erection, complete civil and structural works, supply of spare parts, and start-up and commissioning of the plant. Furthermore, ENKA provided onshore and offshore training for the client’s personnel for the operation and maintenance of the plant.

ENKA scope also covered 9.000 m water distribution DI piping line (dia. 600 mm) with 2×10.000 m³ water storage tanks.

• 1.1 million man-hours
• First supply and delivery of floating HDPE offshore pipe (dia. 1400 mm) in total 500 m length on piece bundle from Türkiye. First Çanakkale channel crossing of HDPE pipe string by floating method with tug boat in total of 650 m
• 600 tons of concrete water intake head erection in 12 m depth under seawater
• 6 pcs of concrete blocks, 85 tons each, transportation by means of floating in 2 miles.