China Gezhouba Group builds world’s largest drinking water reservoir in Qatar

By Chen Zai and Shen Yuan, Yichang International Communication Studio

As the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 kicked off on November 21, much of the world’s attention will be fixed on this country in the Middle East for the next six weeks. Did you know, Yichang is also connected with this event?

China Gezhouba Group, which was founded in Yichang in 1970, built the world’s largest drinking water reservoir in Qatar. This project has already begun to serve its capital Doha and the important industrial city of Umm Saeed as well as players, referees and millions of visitors joining for the World Cup.
 

Panoramic view of the project

 

With no complete rivers or permanent lakes in its territory and an average annual precipitation of only about 100 millimeters, Qatar is a country where water is more valuable than oil. To expand its drinking water capabilities leading up to the World Cup, Qatar had decided to build 15 of the world's largest drinking water pools in its surrounding desert. China Gezhouba Group Corporation, a subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Corporation Limited, has become the only Chinese company to participate in this project, undertaking the E Section of this super-large strategic water reservoir project, consisting of two water pools.
 

The E Bid Section of the reservoir construction

 

Since the project began on April 5, 2015, about 100 Gezhouba workers have gone to Qatar. After 93 months of meticulous work, all construction was completed by the end of 2021. Each reservoir pool is 305 meters in length, 150 meters wide, and 11.3 meters high. The designed capacity reaches about 500,000 cubic meters, allowing each pool to provide water for 2 million people a day. With a total of 15 pools, they are able to provide the entire water consumption of Qatar for seven days.

The project is now wrapping up its final maintenance and will be handed over to Qatar. It is expected to be officially completed on December 30, where it will continue to serve the Qatari people beyond the World Cup.

Farouq, director of human resources on site, said that the project has created more than 3,000 jobs for both local and international people, stimulating growth in the local economy.
 

Chinese manager supervises the progress of the construction on site

 

Kalisa Lingam, the onsite project director, said: “It is Qatar's most important drinking water facility. The construction spanned across five regions of Qatar, among which the part undertaken by the Chinese company had fast progress and good quality. It passed all engineering quality reviews and its operation has not had any issues so far.”