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DesalData Weekly - January 8th, 2019

Posted 08 January, 2019 by Mandy

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The Rabigh 2 IWP desalination plant in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia, Credit: ACWAPOWER

SAUDI ARABIA ACWA Power, the Saudi water and energy developer, has been awarded a contract to build the world’s largest independent desalination plant. The plant will be located in Rabigh, on the Kingdom’s Red Sea coast, and will boast a capacity of 600,000 m3/d. ACWA Power submitted the lowest tariff at $0.53/m3 and was chosen to develop Rabigh 3 IWP alongside the Saudi Brothers Commercial Company. The plant will serve the water needs of Makkah and Jeddah. The project has been procured under a 25-year-build-own-operate (BOO) contract and is set to start operation on December 31, 2021.[1]

 

LIBYA Following an agreement between the State Property Authority and the General Authority for Water Resources, Misurata Principality has initiated proceedings for the development of a desalination plant. The principality handed over a site dedicated to the construction of the plant according to a spokesperson for the municipal council. The plant will supply the city of Misurata and its outskirts and is estimated to have an initial capacity of 85,000 m3/d.[2]

 

ISRAEL is ready to move forward with the Red Sea-Dead Sea project, according to the country’s regional cooperation minister Tzachi Hanegbi. He has reported that the Israeli cabinet is expected to approve the much-delayed project in the near future.

Israel and Jordan will each pledge $40 million per year to the project for 25 years, bringing the total to minimum of $2 billion. The project could help address Jordan’s water shortage, and Palestinians will be able to purchase desalinated water at cost. The project would also alleviate the evaporation of the Dead Sea.[3]

 

GHANA Aquaventure Holdings has revealed that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has received approval to provide $50 million in funding for an 18-year term towards a project involving Aquaventure’s pending acquisition of the Teshie Nungua desalination plant in Accra. Financing of the project is dependent on the completion of the acquisition of the plant by Aquaventure. The company also entered into an agreement with Abengoa Water Nungua, S.L.U. to extend the long-stop date of the transaction from December 31, 2018 to March 31, 2019.[4]

 

BRAZIL Last week president Jair Bolsonaro announced that Science and Technology Minister Marcos Pontes will visit Israel to establish a cooperation project to build a desalination plant in northeastern Brazil. The announcement was made on Twitter. Bolsonaro revealed that construction will being this month on a pilot brackish water desalination facility for family farms, which may later be expanded to more localities.

Bolsonaro also stated that Brazil and Israel will announce cooperation in a trial of Isreali technology to produce water from humidity in air.[5]

 

 

 

 

[1] “ACWA wins largest water desalination plant”, arabnews.com, December 31, 2018. < http://www.arabnews.com/node/1427951/corporate-news >, accessed January 2, 2019.

[2] Safa Alharathy, “Misurata initiates proceedings to establish desalination plant”, libyaobserver.ly, January 2, 2019. < https://www.libyaobserver.ly/inbrief/misurata-initiates-proceedings-establish-desalination-plant > , accessed January 2, 2019.

[3] Gwen Ackerman, “Israel ready to build Red Sea-Dead Sea Project with Jordan”, bloomberg.com, January 2, 2019. < https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-02/israel-ready-to-build-red-sea-dead-sea-project-with-jordan >, accessed January 2, 2019.

[4] “Aquaventure holdings announces participation of OPIC and extension of Long-stop Date in Ghanaian Acquisition”, January 2, 2019. < https://www.citizentribune.com/news/business/aquaventure-holdings-announces-participation-of-opic-and-extension-of-long/article_38a064ce-1678-5c9e-a45c-f4838463a947.html >, accessed january 3, 2019.

[5] “Brazil to seek Israeli help in desalination project, says President-elect Jair Bolsonaro”, timesnownews.com, December 27, 2018. <https://www.timesnownews.com/international/article/brazil-to-seek-israeli-help-in-desalination-project-says-president-elect-jair-bolsonaro/337459>, accessed January 3, 2019.

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