Latest news with #mantenimiento
Zawya
18-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Acciona consortium lands Egypt wastewater treatment complex deal
Spanish infrastructure major Acciona has announced that its consortium with Egyptian company DHCU has secured the contract to provide operation and maintenance services for Phase II of the Gabal El Asfar wastewater treatment complex. The contract was awarded by Cairo-based Construction Authority for Potable Water and Wastewater (CAPW) for a eight-year period. The project scope includes rehabilitation works and upgrades on two plants of the complex, each with a capacity of 500,000 cu m per day. Gabal El Asfar is the largest wastewater treatment facility in Africa and the Middle East, and the third largest in the world in terms of treatment capacity, at 2.5 Hm³ per day. It serves the eastern part of Cairo which has a population of eight million people. Acciona said it has extensive experience in water treatment in Egypt. In 2013, it was awarded the contract for the design, construction and commissioning of an expansion of Gabal El Asfar, increasing its daily treatment capacity by 500,000 cu m. In 2022, the company, also together with DHCU, won the contract to carry out the operation, maintenance and improvement of Phase I of the oldest wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) of the complex, with a capacity of 1.5 Hm³ per day. The Spanish infrastructure giant has also worked, together with CAPW, on the operation of the water infrastructure for the upper-level water supply network in New Cairo, a satellite city of Cairo, located about 30km east of the capital. This contract includes the collection of water from the Nile River, its transport to a drinking water treatment plant and its treatment and subsequent storage before being supplied to consumers, said Acciona in its statement. The company has also been involved in the construction of five other drinking water treatment plants in the country -Almerya, Rod El Farag, Mostorod, North Helwan I and North Helwan II) - with a total treatment capacity of more than 600,000 cu m per day that can serve an estimated population of more than six million, it added.
Zawya
16-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
ACCIONA-led consortium awarded €35mln O&M deal for wastewater plant in Egypt
A Spanish-Egyptian consortium has been awarded a €35 million operations and maintenance (O&M) contract for Phase II of the Gabal El Asfar wastewater treatment complex in Egypt, the company said on Monday. The eight-year agreement was signed by Spain's ACCIONA and Egypt's DHCU with Construction Authority for Potable Water and Wastewater (CAPW) and covers rehabilitation and upgrade works at two treatment plants, each with a capacity of 500,000 cubic metres per day (m3/day). Gabal El Asfar, located in eastern Cairo, is one of the largest wastewater treatment facilities in Africa and the Middle East, with a total treatment capacity of 2.5 million m3/day. It serves the eastern part of Cairo which has a population of eight million people. In 2013, ACCIONA was awarded the contract for the design, construction and commissioning of an expansion of Gabal El Asfar, increasing its daily treatment capacity by 500,000 m³/day. In 2022, the ACCIONA-DHCU consortium secured an O&M contract for Phase I of the of the oldest wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the complex, which has a capacity of 1.5 million m³/day. Beyond Gabal El Asfar, ACCIONA has been active in Egypt's water infrastructure sector through partnerships with CAPW including operation of the upper-level water supply network in New Cairo from collection and transport of water from the Nile River for drinking water treatment to subsequent storage and suppy to consumers. The company has been involved in the construction of five other drinking water treatment plants in the country (Almerya, Rod el Farag, Mostorod, North Helwan I and North Helwan II) with a total treatment capacity of more than 600,000 m³/day to serve an estimated population of more than six million. The company also designed and commissioned the 5.6 million m³/day Bahr Al Baqr wastewater treatment plant in northwestern Egypt which supports agricultural irrigation. ACCIONA currently operates the wastewater treatment plants of Abnoub-El Fath (80,000 m³/day), Sodfa-El Ghanayem (30,000 m³/day), El Ayat (30,000 m³/day) and Abu Simbel (6,000 m³/day). (Writing by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)
Associated Press
03-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
How Leading Elevator Companies Respond When the Power Goes Out
When the power went out around noon on April 28, Otis mechanic Julio César was conducting an inspection in a Madrid office building. The generator turned on, and he continued working. He thought it was a local issue. Then the building's maintenance manager informed him of the magnitude of the event: All power, and nearly all cellphone service, was out across Spain and Portugal. They didn't know it at the time, but the outage would last about 10 hours – and up to 16 hours in some areas. Julio César immediately completed his inspection and went to check the other units on his route to make sure no one was trapped. He prioritized nursing homes and the smaller buildings that he knew did not have backup generators. 'I went to the places first where I knew there might be more vulnerable people,' he said. Julio César is just one of hundreds of Otis field colleagues in Spain and Portugal who rallied to support people stranded in elevators when the power went out – and later, when power was restored, worked to get elevators back up and running. Their response was immediate and thorough: In the hours following the historic outage, mechanics worked with public authorities to visit every unit on their routes to ensure there were no entrapments, and rescuing people who were. OTISLINE customer service teams provided immediate support to those who were connected. Then, when power was restored, they set to work getting all elevators back up and running. Consider these figures: Spain has the most elevators per resident in the European Union, with almost 1.3 million elevators total, according to the Spanish Elevator Federation. They estimate that 10,000 entrapped passengers were freed on April 28. Here's what happens at Otis when the power goes out: Going above their normal call to help others Otis mechanics freed people trapped in elevators that were not their responsibility – elevators that are not part of the Otis service portfolio. Xavier, an Otis salesman who used to be a mechanic, freed two women in their 90s in the minutes after the blackout started. One mechanic walked more than 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) to help as many trapped passengers as possible. Colleagues who were not scheduled to work went to the offices to see how they could help. Those who were working voluntarily worked another shift when transit issues meant some second-shift workers didn't make it into the office or call center. Mechanics accompanied firefighters to perform rescues. Some Otis colleagues took people with mobility issues into their homes. When the power came back By April 29, once entrapments were addressed and power was restored, Otis experts turned quickly to making sure all Otis units were back online and working. This too required a round-the-clock response from field colleagues. Some mechanics had accumulated more than 25 calls by 9 a.m. Service was again augmented by extending shifts, and tapping people on their scheduled day off who showed up at the call centers, aware of the workload. It wasn't until late on April 30 that the crisis was over. Otis had zero calls on hold. 'Through their actions and professionalism, our colleagues in Spain and Portugal exemplified the core values of our company and demonstrated how to put our mission into action,' said Enrique Miñarro Viseras, President of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Latin America. 'Thank you for your resilience, teamwork and unwavering focus on our customers and passengers. Your skills were in high demand and your empathy was evident as you navigated complex situations, provided reassurances and supported everyone affected. We are so proud of all you have done.' Preparing for next time In Spain and Portugal, the power outage lasted approximately 10 hours and up to 16 hours in some locations. Nuno Correia, a field supervisor in Portugal with 35 years of Otis experience, said he had never experienced anything like this. 'I only remember a two-hour power outage in Lisbon 20 years ago, but never a time when communications were down,' Correia said. After the initial nervousness of trying to restore communications, his technicians prioritized helping the factories they service, which were operating at full capacity at the time of the blackout. While Otis has crisis preparedness plans in place for events like this, each one provides opportunities to learn and improve for the next time, with a focus on the Otis value of safety, and dedication to Otis' mission to be a world-class, customer-centric, service-oriented company. What to do if you're stuck in an elevator Importantly, when an elevator stops working, because of a power cut or other reason, passengers are safe inside of the elevator cabin. If communications systems are working, they will have access to an emergency call center. However, if the telecommunications network fails before the signal is activated, passengers must wait in the cabin until an emergency release system is activated, power is restored, or a technician arrives to rescue them. Some elevators are equipped with an emergency lighting system designed to last at least 1 hour. This emergency lighting is activated automatically as soon as the power supply fails. Depending upon local regulations, elevators may also have an external alarm bell, designed to alert building occupants of an entrapment. In some countries, Otis businesses are certified to the ISO 22301 standard, which assesses the quality of a company's processes for providing emergency assistance in the event of a blackout. In addition, post-blackout, Otis has received numerous calls from customers inquiring about products designed to reduce the risk of entrapments in a power cut, including a battery-powered emergency release system, and elevators capable of running on battery and solar power in the event of a power disruption. These Gen2 Switch elevators are currently available in Spain and Portugal. Customers with them reported gratitude that they mitigated the effects of the power outage on their buildings. About Otis Otis is the world's leading elevator and escalator manufacturing, installation and service company. We move 2.4 billion people a day and maintain approximately 2.4 million customer units worldwide, the industry's largest Service portfolio. Headquarters in Connecticut, USA, Otis is 72,000 people strong, including 44,000 field professionals, all committed to manufacturing, installing and maintaining products to meet the diverse needs of our customers and passengers in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. For more information, visit and follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook @OtisElevatorCo. Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from Otis Worldwide Corporation
