Ashghal, the Qatar Public Works Authority, recently held its Green Awards gala, where Idrica Qatar (Aguas de Valencia WLL) won first prize for its work in the field of sustainability.
Idrica Qatar (Aguas de Valencia WLL) has been awarded first prize in the Green Awards’ Green Design category, thanks to the smart irrigation pilot program in which the GoAigua Smart Green solution was implemented in two parks in the city of Al Khor. Ashghal thus acknowledged the hard work carried out by the company in a project regarded as a Sustainable Development initiative, in line with the Qatar National Vision 2030, as well as with environmental and sustainability policies.
Enrique J. Fernandez, General Manager of Idrica Qatar, was delighted to receive the award, saying:
“This is a fantastic way to recognize the many years of hard work we have put in to becoming more efficient and is an incentive for us to continue to lead the way in smart and sustainable solutions, based on the global vision of O&M experts in the water cycle”.
The award-winning project revolves around an autonomous smart irrigation system that optimizes the use of treated water and energy consumption thanks to the use of advanced algorithms and machine learning. The system focuses on increasing environmental sustainability, reducing operating costs and the use of fossil fuels, doing away with the digital divide and promoting sustainable urban development.
Results
The project, known as TSE Connection Customer – Intelligent Irrigation, focused on the deployment of a smart irrigation platform in the Al Tawasul and MME Private Garden parks in Al Khor, designed to reduce the volume of water used in these landscaped areas. The platform provides a comprehensive monitoring and smart management hub for irrigation infrastructures which integrates all the relevant data to create the best irrigation schedule, automate it and implement a decision support system.
In the opinion of Severino Ramos, VP Middle East:
“The project brings substantial environmental benefits, cost savings, innovation and technology, which are precisely the cornerstones the project is based on i.e., economy, technology and society”.
Water savings in the parks where the award-winning solution has been implemented range from 21% to 27%, depending on the type of irrigation. In turn, the irrigation network’s hydraulic efficiency has been improved by 10%, whilst the motors’ energy consumption has dropped by between 20% and 70%, thanks to the use of less water and the installation of pumping systems equipped with frequency converters.
Green awards
The Green Awards aim precisely to promote and appraise contractors’ environmental and sustainability management at working construction sites. As such, the awards have five categories – Green Design, Green Project, Waste Management Excellence, Building Material Recycling Excellence, and Energy Efficiency Excellence (Carbon Footprint Reduction).
The Green Awards were launched in 2018 by Ashghal’s Quality and Safety Department (QSD) and Road Projects Department (RPD), and are a unique initiative designed to raise awareness of sustainable practices in construction and help eradicate or reduce their impact.
This year, a total of 43 companies participated in the event, a number that marks a new record every year given the importance that these awards are gaining on the international stage.
