SENEGAL – A groundwater desalination plant will soon commence operations in the town of Foundiougne in southwest Senegal. The project manager recently revealed that the project, commissioned by the national water company of Senegal (SONES), should be completed within a few months. The plant will have a capacity of 1,700 m3/d and cost 20 million euros ($22.83 million) to construct. Operation of the facility will be entrusted to Sen’eau, a new company operating and distributing drinking water in Senegal’s urban and peri-urban areas. (Afrik 21)
SINGAPORE – National water agency PUB announced that Singapore’s fourth desalination plant started commercial operations on June 29. The Keppel Marina East desalination plant has a production capacity of 136,382 m3/d and is Singapore’s first large-scale plant capable of treating both fresh water and seawater. Keppel Infrastructure subsidiary Marina East Water will operate the plant for a 25-year concession period from this year to 2045. Singapore’s four desalination plants, including the new plant, have a combined capacity of 727,374 m3/d. (The Straits Times)
AUSTRALIA – The Australian and South Australian Governments announced an extra $15 million investment for Kangaroo Island’s new desalination plant. The announcement brings the project’s total funding to $47.8 million. The construction of the 2,000 m3/d plant will take between 18 and 24 months and the plant is expected to launch operations in 2022. (Mirage News)
The Gold Coast desalination plant will run at full capacity again this summer to allow for critical upgrades to the Mt Crosby plant. Natural Resources Minister Dr Anthony Lynham revealed that the plant at Tugun was scheduled to produce up to 133,000 m3/d while the Mt Crosby plant is offline for the next stage of critical works, which will take more than two and half years to complete. The Gold Coast desalination plant last operated at full capacity from November 2019 to January 2020 when the water grid dropped below 60 percent capacity. (Mirage News)
A desalination plant in Bandar Abbas, Iran, launched the second phase of operations. Credit: Tasnim News
IRAN – President Hassan Rouhani recently launched the second phase of a major desalination plant in Bandar Abbas in the southern province of Hormozgan. The second phase of the project increased the plant’s capacity to a total of 40,000 m3/d. The government is planning for the facility to run at its maximum capacity of 100,000 m3/d by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2021). (Tasnim News Agency)