CHINESE officials plan to increase the nation’s seawater desalination capacity more than fivefold within the next three to five years.^[1]   This expansion will include the construction of roughly one-hundred plants concentrated in 16 coastal provinces and cities, according to a plan issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Oceanic Administration.

By 2020 many of China’s 500 inhabited islands, which are increasingly facing water shortages, are also expected to rely on desalination as their primary source of water.^[2]   

EGYPT has secured a US$354 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the construction of a new desalination plant at Ain Sokhna, located on the western shore on the Gulf of Suez.^[3] 

Suez Canal Economic Zone chairman Mohab Mamish confirmed that the loan would cover feasibility studies, environmental impact assessment and project implementation.  Mamish secured the deal with ERBD director Philip Barresi at a recent meeting of the International Maritime Organisation in London. The ERBD is involved in 52 projects in Egypt and has thus far invested over $2 billion in the country.^[4]

The Water Corporation of WESTERN AUSTRALIA may expand the capacity of the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant. The utility has bought nearly 40 acres of land adjacent to the plant for A$30 million (US$23 million) to allow for such a project. Alternative options under consideration includ extended wastewater reuse and the construction of desalination capacity at a different site.^[5]   

The existing capacity of the plant stands at 140,000 cubic metres of water per day, and which may be expanded initially up to 50 percent. The cost of such an expansion may reach AU$500 million (US$380 million)^[6]

^{Credit: Desalination.biz}

U.S.A. –  Last week academics, advocates, and activists met at University of California, Irvine to discuss the proposed Huntington Beach desalination plant.^[7]   Those present included Scott Maloni, vice president of Poseidon Water, Ray Hiemstra, associate director of Orange County Coastkeeper, and Professor Newsha Ajami, director of Urban Water Policy at Stanford University.

Last November, Coastkeeper raised a legal challenge to the state’s approval for the project. However,  Hiemstra clarified that the organization does not oppose all desalination projects, and instead, views desalination as a method that should be pursued only after consideration of more cost-effective and environmentally friendly measures such as conservation, recycling, and stormwater capture. 

Maloni, meanwhile, addressed concerns about the local environmental impact of the project, explaining that Poseidon would ensure compliance with California laws concerning protective measures for marine life.  He also stated that the proposed plant would enable water managers to diversify existing local water sources.^[8]