Operations & Maintenance in Macau: Tackling Urban Challenges in Asia

25 November 2024

We’ve secured a significant contract for the Magnetic CEPT Inner Harbour Wastewater Treatment Project in Macau. This compact, sustainable solution will treat overflow sewer stormwater, improving surface water quality. With solar panels and innovative technology, we’ll operate the plant for four years, extending our presence in Macau until at least 2029!

At Waterleau Macau we have finally won the tender for the Magnetic CEPT Inner Harbour Temporary waste water treatment project , that needs to treat overflow sewer stormwater (municipal waste water) that comes into the Inner harbour of Macau. It is called temporary because in the future the sewer system should be improved and bring all the waste water to the main Macau WWTP.

However this still can take many years. The plant is made in such way that it is fully covered and integrated in its surrounding and the roof has solar panels as well.

Mr. Yuan Yan, our GM and director in Macau has signed the contract last Tuesday 12/11 with our client DSPA (Macau EPA, Environmental Protection Agency), witnessed by Mancy Wong (Vice GM Waterleau Macau) and my self. Also we had the official start meeting with DSPA, LECM (department for the civil works) and IDQ (quality consultants).

So now we have to execute the project within 432 days, followed by 4 years of O&M which will extend our presences in Macau until at least 2029!

Our contract for the Industrial zone of Cross Border WWTP runs until at least the end of 2026.
Our contract for the Coloane WWTP was just extended (extension number 8) to 28 February 2025 and we still fight hard to get the new project.

The new Inner Harbour project is a partnership with SPRING from China and UNICON from Macau, the latter our long time partners for steel and equipment installation works.

Spring is a very interesting and preferred partner as being the largest MBBR (Moving Bed Bio Reactor) technology supplier from China and they also are owners of the Magnetic CEPT technology.

CEPT stands for Chemically Enhanced Primary Treatment and consists of a extreme compact coagulation-flocculation and lamella settler system. The flocculation process is intensified due to the use of magnetite powder and a drum filter with a magnet and scraper that recovers the magnetite powder for more than 95%. This step replaces a biological activated sludge system, although the treatment efficiency is limited to 60-70% of that of a biological system (e.g. no nitrification-denitrication is possible) it is a very good temporary and economical and sustainable (super compact) solution to improve the surface water quality.