Business & Finance Club - Manama : Bahrain's Bapco has signed a $69.7 million wastewater treatment plant contract with Korea's GS Engineering and Construction Corporation.

The new plant will take Bapco's spending on environmental projects to $1 billion (BD377 million), according to Oil and Gas Minister and National Oil and Gas Authority chairman Dr Abdulhussain Mirza.

He made the comment as he signed the engineering, procurement and construction contract with the Korean firm.

Once completed, it will treat wastewater produced by the refinery and remove any chemicals - meaning the water can then be used for irrigation.

"Though the value of the contract is $69.7m, the whole project will cost $120m," he said.

"More than 650 people will be engaged on the project during the construction period, set to begin in November and completed by the end of 2012."

He said Bapco had already completed a $150m gas desulphurisation plant earlier this year and a $700m low sulphur diesel project a few years ago.

"A plant to capture 200 tonnes of carbon dioxide every day and a sewerage treatment plant, costing approximately $20m each, are on the cards in the very near future as well," he added.

He said the latest deal was part of the company's strategic investment programme and marks a significant step forward in its environmental performance.

"We have also now fully complied with liquid effluent environmental regulations set by the Public Commission for the Protection of Marine Resources, Environment and Wildlife."

Present on the occasion were GS Engineering president and chief global officer S R Woo, power and environmental division senior executive vice-president J J Huh and Bapco chief executive Faisal Al Mahroos, along with senior company and National Oil and Gas Authority officials.