CDE, a leading supplier of sand and aggregate wet processing solutions for the waste recycling and natural processing sectors, has announced a new partnership with the La’ Ala Al-Kuwait Real Estate Company that will see its design and engineer a sand washing plant to support the delivery of phase five of its pioneering Sabah Al-Ahmad Sea City (SAASC) in Kuwait.
A development 25 years in the making, the sprawling metropolis of artificial islands and waterways will eventually house over 250,000 residents.
Situated some 90km south of Kuwait City in the Al-Khiran area along the Arabian Gulf, SAASC is considered one of the world’s most significant real estate developments. It will feature a vast network of canals, waterways, and four essential marinas alongside residential and commercial complexes.
Five phases of the planned ten-phase project have been completed, creating over 186km of the new coastline. Over 230km of unique beaches are scheduled for the visionary city.
With the next phase commenced, millions of cubic metres of sand and silt will need to be extracted, processed and dewatered to create a new entrance channel, waterways and land formation.
To support this, CDE will commission a new sand washing plant to replace a pre-existing wash plant set-up that has reached the end of its operational life.
With over 3,000 contractors from 20 countries working 24/7, SAASC requires robust technology to maintain its busy production schedule.
The dated system currently employed on site has been in operation for over a decade and, during this time, has operated beyond its efficiency range, resulting in the loss of high-value fine material to tailings ponds.
CDE’s solution will deliver excellent plant optimisation and uptime to increase throughput. Its ability to be fine-tuned in response to varying feedstock means the system can adjust cut points to ensure optimum plant utilisation and product yield to support the continued development of new coastlines and the construction of the city’s vital infrastructure.
The project’s previous sand washing system, which has reached the end of its operational life, played an essential role in getting the project to where it is today. However, as production demands intensify, newer, more adaptable technologies and solutions are required to maintain the SAASC project schedule.
CDE’s Area Sales Manager James Murphy says: “Our sand washing technology will equip the SAASC project team with proven solutions that deliver guaranteed performance. When commissioned, the plant will represent a major upgrade in wet processing technology to a system that will ensure consistent sand gradation, provide greater adaptability to handle variable feed material and maximise product yield. We believe our technical expertise and engineering excellence will support the SAASC project to meet production targets ahead of schedule.”
As part of the latest phase of the project, an estimated 1.3 million cubic metres of beach sand will be required by the middle of 2024.
The equipment arrived in January 2023 and is currently being commissioned.