A delegation from Afghanistan's urban water supply and sewerage company, led by chief executive Ghulam-Rahman Kazem, visited the Okhla wastewater treatment plant in New Delhi on 21 September 2026 to study treatment technology and operating practice, according to a report by خبرگزاری اطلس.
Key takeaways
- Afghanistan's urban water supply and sewerage company sent a delegation to the Okhla wastewater treatment plant in New Delhi on 21 September 2026, led by chief executive Ghulam-Rahman Kazem, per خبرگزاری اطلس.
- The visit was framed by the Afghan utility as a fact-finding mission on treatment methods and process design, per خبرگزاری اطلس.
- The Afghan side shared technical information on the Gulbagh wastewater treatment plant in Kabul, which is under construction, with the Indian host team, per خبرگزاری اطلس.
- Both sides agreed to review systems and technologies suited to Afghan conditions for use in domestic wastewater treatment projects, per خبرگزاری اطلس.
What happened
Afghanistan's urban water supply and sewerage company, one of the bodies responsible for water and sewage services in the country, sent a team to the Okhla facility in New Delhi to examine new technologies and experience in wastewater management and treatment, according to خبرگزاری اطلس. The report, published on 21 September 2026, said the visit was intended to learn about the methods used in wastewater treatment and to apply that experience to similar projects in Afghanistan.
During the site visit, the Afghan delegation was briefed on the plant's capacity, technology, treatment process and how treated water is reused at the facility, per خبرگزاری اطلس. The same report noted that the Afghan side shared technical information on the Gulbagh wastewater treatment plant in Kabul, which is under construction, with the Indian hosts.
Based on the exchange, the two sides agreed to review systems and technologies suited to Afghanistan's conditions for use in the country's wastewater treatment projects, according to خبرگزاری اطلس. The Afghan utility described the Gulbagh Kabul project as among the plans related to wastewater management in the capital.
Specification read
No capacity, flow or population-equivalent figure for the Okhla plant or the Gulbagh project was reported by خبرگزاری اطلس. A municipal wastewater treatment plant of this class typically serves tens of thousands to several hundred thousand residents, with daily flows in the range of about 20,000–500,000 m³/day (general industry range, not from the sources).
A facility of this size generally runs a full municipal train: coarse and fine screening, grit removal, primary clarification, biological treatment (commonly an activated-sludge variant such as A2O, MBR, MBBR or SBR, with UASB considered in warmer climates), followed by tertiary filtration and disinfection (chlorination or UV) before reuse or discharge. The event reported here bears on the process-design selection stage, since the Afghan and Indian sides agreed to review which systems and technologies fit Afghan site conditions for the Gulbagh project in Kabul.
If your plant looks like a mid-to-large municipal installation in the 20,000–500,000 m³/day band (general industry range, not from the sources) with mixed domestic sewage, BOD in the 150–400 mg/L range and COD roughly twice BOD, and you are scoping the process train for a greenfield or upgrade project under public-utility procurement, this kind of cross-border technology review is a signal to shortlist biological-stage options early. Buyers evaluating MBR versus conventional activated sludge for comparable flows can compare process footprints and effluent quality in MBR vs Conventional Activated Sludge for Food & Beverage Wastewater in Kindred, US (2026 Guide) and the mining-context comparison in MBR vs Conventional Activated Sludge for Mining Wastewater in Ganado, US (2026 Guide), and review the broader equipment categories we serve on the Municipal and Industries We Serve pages.
FAQ
What was the purpose of the Afghan delegation's visit to the Okhla plant? Afghanistan's urban water supply and sewerage company described it as a fact-finding mission to learn about the methods used in wastewater treatment and to apply that experience to similar projects in Afghanistan, per خبرگزاری اطلس.
What did the two sides agree to do next? The Afghan and Indian teams agreed to review systems and technologies suited to Afghanistan's conditions for use in the country's wastewater treatment projects, according to خبرگزاری اطلس. No contract award, timeline or budget was reported.
How long does a municipal wastewater treatment plant of this class typically take from design to commissioning? General industry delivery for a municipal plant in the tens of thousands of m³/day range runs roughly 18–36 months from notice to proceed to mechanical completion, depending on civil works scope and equipment sourcing (general industry range, not from the sources).
What should a procurement lead ask a vendor when scoping a comparable project? Buyers typically request guaranteed effluent values against the local discharge standard, power consumption per m³ treated, sludge yield, membrane replacement interval (if MBR), and a recommended spares list, then compare on lifecycle cost rather than capital cost alone (general industry range, not from the sources).
