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Filtration Industry Analyst

FW will carry out the workthrough a partnership withDuro Felguera SA, a Spanishmanufacturing and construc-tion contractor. FW originallysupplied the 350 MWe boilersbetween 1976 and 1979 asbrown coal units and modifiedthe systems between 1993 and1996, allowing the boilers tofire up to 50% imported coal.As a result of the run-down ofthe local brown coal mine sup-plying the plant, this latestupgrade is designed to enablethe boilers to fire 100%imported low-sulphur coal.

Work on the first unit willstart immediately and theentire project is scheduled tobe completed in 2008.

VA TECH HYDROWINS

PORTUGUESECONTRACT

VA Tech Hydro has beenawarded a ��2.7 million con-tract by EDP (Electricidadde Portugal) Energia for theturbine modernization of theBelver IV in Portugal.

The upgrade will involvean integral turbine moderniza-tion and repair – shafts, bear-ings, runner, blades, shaft seal-ing housing, generator,excitation system, water cool-ing system, oil and water pip-ing, spare parts and new gover-nor – including engineering,workshop and site assemblyand commissioning. Locatedon the river Tajo, the BelverIV is due to be commissionedin February 2004.

COATINGS

AKZO NOBEL TOBUILD CHINESE

COATINGS PLANT Akzo Nobel is strengtheningits position in the Chinesecoatings market by investingin a new factory for decora-tive coatings.

The facility, which willproduce water-based wallpaints for the Chinese market,will be built on the company’sexisting site in Suzhou nearShanghai.

Construction work on thefactory is scheduled to beginby the end of the year. The newfacility is expected to be opera-tional by the first quarter of2005.

MINING

UNDERGROUNDCOAL MINE

DOWN UNDERBHP Billiton MitsubishiAlliance (BMA) plans todevelop a new punch long-wall underground coal minein Central Queensland,Australia.

The A$102 million Broad-meadow Mine will have thecapacity to produce up to 3.6million tonnes of high qualitycoking coal per year. Develop-ment is scheduled to start inthe third quarter of 2003, withlongwall operations set for thesecond half of 2005.

Located on BMA’s Goon-yella open cut mine lease,Broadmeadow Mine will fea-ture BMA’s first application ofpunch longwall mining, anunderground technique usingan existing open cut pit forlongwall panel access.

CHEMICALS

WORLD’SLARGEST

POLYTHF PLANTFOR SHANGHAI

BASF has laid the corner-stone of its new integratedproduction facility for poly-tetrahydrofuran (polyTHF)and tetrahydrofuran (THF)in the Shanghai ChemicalIndustrial Park in Caojing,Shanghai, China.

With an annual capacity of60 000 metric tons of polyTHFand 80 000 metric tons of THF,the project will be the largestpolyTHF production facilityworldwide.

The new plant, scheduledto be completed in the fourthquarter of 2004, will supplythe rapidly expanding spandexfibre market in China.

By 2010, BASF is aimingto generate 20% of sales andearnings in the chemical busi-ness in Asia Pacific, withstrong local production.

AMEC TO BUILDCHINA’S FIRSTPAN/CARBONFIBRE PLANT

AMEC has been awarded aUS$25 million contract byChina Worldbest Group toengineer and construct apolyacrylonitrile (PAN) andcarbon fibre productionplant in Bengbu, Anhuiprovince, eastern China.

Working with AppliedComposite Engineering Ltd,AMEC will undertake theengineering, procurement, pro-ject management, constructionsupervision and commission-ing of what will be the firstcombined polyacrylonitrileand carbon fibre plant to bebuilt in China. AMEC hasalready started engineeringdesign at its offices in Shang-hai and the UK, with projectcompletion scheduled for Feb-ruary 2005.

WATER &WASTEWATER

EFFORTS MADETO BOOST IRAQI

WATER CAPACITYUSAID, with Bechtel as thelead contractor, is workingwith the Iraqi water authori-ty to increase water capacityin eastern Baghdad from 153million gallons per day to206 million gallons per day.

The Coalition ProvisionalAuthority (CPA) has providedfunding for stand-alone gener-ating units for all 34 of Bagh-dad’s water treatment plants.Bechtel is assessing the units’condition and the additionalpower needed.

In Basrah, Bechtel hasstarted installing emergencypower generators for the mainwater treatment and pumpingplants. Meanwhile, the compa-ny’s water specialist continuesto visit power plants, identify-ing the priorities for powerplants needing water treatmentupgrades.

PENNVESTAPPROVES

US$85M FORWATER PROJECTSPennsylvania InfrastructureInvestment Authority (PEN-NVEST) has approvedUS$76.3 million in low-inter-est loans and US$8.7 millionin grants to fund 31 drinkingwater, wastewater and stormwater projects across thestate.

The funding ranges fromUS$180 200 for the installa-tion of drinking water distribu-tion lines in Washington Coun-ty to more than US$10 millionto construct 36 miles of collec-tion lines and force mains inBeaver County.

SKANKSA WINSNY CONTRACT

Skanska is to expand andupgrade the 310 million gal-lons per day Newtown CreekWater Pollution ControlPlant in New York City.

Skanska’s work accountsfor US$222 million of theUS$493 million project.

The project is one of thefinal phases of a major plantupgrade to fulfill federalrequirements to provide sec-ondary treatment of allsewage. Work will begin inAugust and is scheduled to becompleted in January 2008.