Nama Water Services assigns worth RO 2.3mln water supply project to Shakhakhit area in Barka

RO 2.3 million assigned to water supply project to the Shakhakhit area in the state of Barka: Nama

Barka: Nama Water Services seeks to apply the best international practices in treating and reusing wastewater, within the framework of the strategic direction of the Sultanate of Oman to protect groundwater sources from depletion, and contribute to environmental sanitation by increasing the area of ​​green spaces, In addition to enhancing food security by using this water to irrigate crops.

Nama Water Services is implementing pioneering engineering projects in the field of wastewater treatment, as the treatment process goes through several stages to ensure complete purification of the water and its suitability for reuse in many fields. Among the projects implemented in this framework are: A project to supply the Shakkhayt area in Barka state with treated water.

Abdul Karim bin Mohammed bin Zahir Al Hinai, Senior Director of Operations and Maintenance Operations at Nama Water Services in South Al Batinah and Al Dakhiliyah Governorates, explained that the project to supply the Shakhakhait area in Barka State with treated water, which is being implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Agricultural Wealth, Fisheries and Water Resources, comes within Nama Water Services’ efforts to exploit treated water. In irrigating crops, which contributes to preserving groundwater reserves and at the same time helps in expanding cultivated areas and increasing productivity, which reflects positively on food security.

He added in a statement to the Oman News Agency: The project to supply the Shakkhayt area with treated water was assigned at a cost of two million and 300 thousand Omani riyals, and with an implementation period of up to a full year, with pipes with a total length of more than 40 kilometers, with diameters ranging between 63 mm and 500 mm, to deliver the treated water to the Omani News Agency. 60 farms are in the first phase, and water delivery requests have been submitted to 54 farms so far.

He pointed out that the treated water network project will be expanded in the future to cover the entire area from Sultan Qaboos Street – heading towards the North Batinah Governorate – to the Batinah Expressway on the opposite side, ensuring access to more than 200 farms, and in line with the project objectives of Increasing the number of farms using treated water, in line with the plans of the Ministry of Agricultural Wealth, Fisheries and Water Resources aimed at achieving the goals of “Oman Vision 2040”, in addition to increasing the agricultural area and enhancing food security in the Sultanate of Oman.

Al-Hinai said that Nama Water Services is supervising the implementation of the project, through establishing the network and delivering treated water, which will be free in the first year and at no cost after delivery, while delivery will be for a nominal fee. The role of the Ministry of Agricultural Wealth and Fisheries is to enhance farmers’ awareness of the importance of using treated water and examining the soil before and after delivering water, in addition to spreading knowledge about crops that can be irrigated with treated water.

He revealed that there are future projects for water treatment, including: a project signed with the Al-Amerat station to supply an agricultural area located opposite the station with treated water. The company is also currently studying linking the Barka station to the line heading to the state of Seeb, with the possibility of delivering treated water to farms in the state, in addition to delivering it from the Barka station to Agricultural Research Station in Barka.

A number of farmers benefiting from the project expressed their happiness at delivering treated water to their farms, noting that the project will contribute to restoring life to most of the farms that were abandoned by their owners after they became unsuitable for agriculture as a result of soil salinization resulting from water salinity, which heralds increased production in agricultural crops. Which contributes to enhancing food security in the Sultanate of Oman. Sultan bin Rashid Al Kalbani, one of the beneficiaries of the project, said that the vital project to support farmers by providing them with treated water to irrigate their farms will work to enhance farmers’ production of vegetables and fruits to cover the needs of the local market and contribute to food security.

For his part, Hamoud bin Saif Al-Raqqadi, a farm owner in the areas benefiting from the project, explained that there is a great demand among farmers to use treated water due to the scarcity and salinity of groundwater, indicating that the project will work to revive and increase the areas cultivated with various types of crops, which will contribute to increasing plant and animal production. .