Ayesa is helping to develop a new wastewater treatment plant in Cáceres as part of an ambitious 100-million-euro water development project

The company has kicked off the year by securing two new contracts for high-capacity wastewater treatment facilities: one in El Marco (Extremadura) and another in Palma de Mallorca, where Ayesa will provide technical assistance throughout the construction processes of both schemes.

Recently, Ayesa, a global provider of technology and engineering services, secured a contract from Acuaes, a state-owned entity under the Spanish Ministry for Ecological Transition. This project is part of a 100-million-euro initiative that is being co-financed by the ERDF 2021-2027 to upgrade the wastewater treatment facility and expand the capacity at Extremadura. The contract is valued at €710,577 with an expected programme time of 12 months and includes design services to expand the wastewater treatment plant in El Marco, the main facility that serves the city of Cáceres.

The project will support the sustainable growth of the region, protecting ecosystems and habitats and enhancing the lives of the population who live there. The new infrastructure designed by Ayesa will be highly efficient, with the application of advanced processes to remove nutrients and treat sludge and will be instrumental in stopping the discharge of untreated wastewater into surrounding rivers and streams of the area.

The plan also includes the decommissioning of two aging wastewater treatment plants in West Cuenca, originally constructed 20 years ago. These plants no longer comply with present-day legal standards for wastewater discharges, and will be converted into pumping stations.

Ayesa is working in partnership on this project with EIC Estudio de Ingeniería Civil and Medios Técnicos Extremeños. The scope of the contract includes carrying out environmental studies, researching alternative solutions and analysing various criteria that are critical in collection and conveyance systems and the construction of the new wastewater treatment plant. The ultimate aim is for all wastewater to be taken to and treated at a single location, in addition to increasing treatment capacity and bringing about the ecological enhancement of the Ribera del Marco stream.

Palma II Wastewater Treatment Plant

in respect of the second contract win, Ayesa was appointed to provide technical assistance during the construction of the Palma II Wastewater Treatment Plant. The purpose of the project, which is co-funded by NextGenerationEU as part of Spain’s Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, is to improve and increase the capacity of wastewater treatment on the island of Majorca.

It is estimated that one million people will benefit from this new infrastructure, which will serve Palma, Marratxí, Esporles and Bunyola. The new plant will treat 90,000 m3/day and will include a pre-treatment system capable of handling 30,000 m3/hour, which will ensure untreated wastewater overflows are no longer discharged into rivers and the sea after intense rainfall events.

The facility is structured into four modular components, enabling isolated maintenance/repair activities without halting the entire plant. It also employs advanced PV technology to reduce its environmental footprint. By using PV technology for its electricity needs, a wastewater treatment plant can significantly reduce its environmental impact, contributing to broader sustainability goals.

This isn’t the first time  Ayesa has partnered with Acuaes, having previously drafted the construction specifications for the recently completed wastewater treatment plant in Illa de Arousa (Pontevedra).

An extensive project portfolio

In addition to these projects in Extremadura and Majorca, Ayesa is currently designing six new wastewater treatment plants in Andalusia and providing construction management services for a further facility in Pozoblanco (Córdoba). It has also recently completed the construction specifications for the Caimito Wastewater Treatment Plant in Panama, which will serve a population of 603,000.

BIM

Ayesa was one of the first engineering companies in Spain to use Building Information Modelling (BIM). BIM allows you to create and manage digital models that capture both the physical and functional attributes of infrastructure throughout its entire lifespan.

These BIM visualizations are produced using dynamic software that can model infrastructure in 3D and offer real-time interactions. These representations provide information on geometry, spatial relationships, geospatial information, the quantities and properties of building components, inventories, and, most important of all, the project’s budget. The result is a significant improvement in how efficiently time and material resources are used as well as a notable reduction in mistakes (and their associated costs) throughout all the phases of a project, from design through to construction.