Ready, steady, mix for the 8th World Wonder

The Great Man-made River is a spectacular project commenced in Libya in September 1984. This is the ‘river of pipelines’, sometimes called "The 8th Wonder of the World".

This Great Man-Made River aims at the mass transfer of waters from the Kufra and Sareer basins beneath the earth’s surface to the coastal concentration of population in Benghazi, Sirte and Tripoli. Upon completion, the huge network of pipelines will extend to about 3,380 km. 

Two special pipe factories were constructed in the regions of Brega and Sareer, to provide the project with the great numbers of concrete pipes necessary. These vary in weight between 73 and 78 tons, have a diameter of 4 meters and are 7.25 meters long.

This project of the century comprises three phases. The first involves laying pipelines from Tazerbou and Sareer in the South to Adjedabia in the North. The second phase will be to carry 2 million cubic meters of water a day from the wells situated in the Fezzan region, in addition to half a million cubic meters from two fields in the Hasawna mountains. The third phase should pump a further 1.68 million cubic meters of water to the first two phases.

Re-coating pipes and storages

From the very beginning, this project included a lot of paint spray equipment to protect the pipes, as well as the storage tanks for the water pump installations. 

In some of these storage tanks, the internal coating showed weaknesses, and in several places, it even became loose from the substrate. In order to go ahead with the project, it was necessary to apply the new coating material to the inside of the tanks. 

In collaboration with M.A.N. Ferrostaal and the paint manufacturer AMERON, Graco distributor Wiltec BV in the Netherlands selected Graco single-component equipment to apply the solvent-free epoxy material "AMERCOAT 391 PC". After several tests, the conclusion was that the Graco sprayer was the right equipment to handle this material properly. 

A total of 5 complete heated sprayers were ordered and delivered to Lybia. The job is now completed, and the storage tanks are filled with fresh water.

The return of the king

Graco’s King® airless sprayer product line has been in use for over 60 years. In that time it’s been the preferred brand for many companies in a range of industries. This rugged airless sprayer has been appreciated for its dependability and durability to handle the toughest protective coatings and corrosion control applications.

The King airless sprayers for protective coating applications have been revamped to reduce icing potential and deliver low pulsation for improved performance. 

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