ISRAEL – A new desalination plant in Sorek, Israel, is set to begin operating, Israel National Water Company Mekorot recently announced. The new plant delivered 6 months ahead of schedule, will increase Israel’s desalination output from 1,643,835 m³/d to 2,191,780 m³/d. The construction, costing $171.88 million, was carried out among other things by the subsidiary of Mekorot, Shaham. The facility's connection to the country's water system was celebrated in a ceremony attended by Energy and Infrastructure Minister Israel Katz and other...

ISRAEL – The European Investment Bank (EIB) plans to invest up to $1.02 billion in Israel for various projects, including a renewable energy-powered desalination plant in the Western Galilee and the Tel Aviv green line light rail. The EIB will contribute $170 million to the Western Galilee desalination plant, the seventh such facility in Israel, which is set to produce 273,972 m³/d. The Western Galilee project will be the fifth Israeli desalination plant that the EIB has invested in. (The Times of Israel)

SOUTH AFRICA – Refurbishment...

U.A.E. – Veolia, a prominent water, waste, and energy technologies company, has been commissioned by the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and ENGIE to lead a consortium for the Mirfa 2 desalination project in the UAE. This project, employing reverse osmosis desalination, aims to be the third-largest desalination facility in the country. The plant is set to produce 550,000 m³/d, catering to about 210,000 households. Veolia's role involves overseeing the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) aspects of the project,...

U.S.A. – Arizona is considering a $5 billion plan to build a desalination plant in Mexico, near the Gulf of California, and pipe the desalinated seawater to Phoenix as the state grapples with water shortages from drought, climate change, and overuse. Groundwater and the Colorado River, the state's primary water sources, are diminishing. The proposed project, backed by IDE Technologies, would involve a 320-km pipeline, climbing over 610 meters in elevation, to transport water to Phoenix. The $5 billion initiative is part of a broader effort...

SAUDI ARABIA – ACWA Power, along with partners Gulf Investment Corporation and AlBawani Water & Power Company, inaugurated Saudi Arabia's first integrated water desalination-solar PV project, the Jubail 3A independent water desalination plant. The $650 million project, located in Jubail, has a world efficiency record of 2.8 kWh/cubic meter of water using Arabian Gulf Seawater. It integrates a 45.5 MW solar PV power generation facility, accounting for 20% of the plant's energy consumption. The project aims to meet increasing water demands...

U.A.E. – Metito and Orascom Construction, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company PJSC (ADNOC) and Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA), have secured a $2.4 billion deal to build a large-scale desalination plant in Abu Dhabi. The consortium will develop, own, and operate the project, which includes seawater treatment, water transportation, and a greenfield seawater nanofiltration plant with a capacity of over 500,069 m³/d. Orascom Construction is the consortium leader. The financing will be through a special purpose...

MOROCCO – The National Office of Water and Electricity (ONEE) in Morocco is planning to build two seawater desalination plants in Essaouira and Guelmim to enhance drinking water and irrigation supply. These projects, located on the Atlantic coast and in the southwest of Morocco, respectively, aim to address water needs in these cities. ONEE has initiated detailed studies to determine water and irrigation requirements, identify plant locations, and assess available resources. The estimated cost for these studies is $2.42 million. Once...

SPAIN – The Spanish government has announced plans to construct a desalination plant in the Axarquía region, which is facing severe drought conditions. The project, part of an $881 million aid package to combat drought effects, will be declared a matter of general state interest. The government aims to invest $226 million in the desalination plant, with a potential completion date by 2026 or 2027. The move comes in response to requests from regional authorities, as extreme drought conditions have disrupted water access in the area. The...

U.S.A. – The U.S. government has allocated $12.6 million for a new treatment plant to address per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination at the Brackish Groundwater National Desalination Research Facility (BGNDRF) in Alamogordo, New Mexico. The BGNDRF, a federally-owned desalination research facility, faced the discovery of PFAS in its groundwater supply, leading to the closure of half of its test wells. The contamination is believed to originate from a cookware manufacturing company, Presto, with PFAS levels in one well...

U.S.A. – Arizona is considering desalination as a solution to its prolonged water crisis, prompted by the decades-long mega-drought affecting the region. Former Governor Doug Ducey and the Arizona Water Infrastructure Finance Authority have proposed desalination initiatives, with a $5.5 billion plan to build a desalination plant in Mexico's Rocky Point and transport the water to Phoenix. The feasibility of desalination in a landlocked state like Arizona is questioned due to the high cost, international border challenges, and environmental...

U.S.A. – California Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California is investing $5 million in three new desalination projects in a bid to protect the state’s water resources from the effects of climate-driven weather extremes. The funds will go to projects in Los Angeles, Fresno and Mendocino counties and will support the design of three different type of desalination facilities. California is working to expand its brackish groundwater desalination production by 94,623 m³/day by 2030.

The Water Replenishment District of Southern California...

SAUDI ARABIA – ACWA Power signed a water purchase agreement with the Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) for the 600,000 m³/day Rabigh 4 Independent Water Plant (IWP) in Saudi Arabia.  SWPC will be the sole buyer of services for the project. The facility valued at around $677 million will supply the Makkah and Madinah regions. With Rabigh 4 IWP, ACWA Power will double its desalination capacity in Rabigh Area. The project is expected to reach financial closure during the third quarter of 2023. (African Mining Market)

ACWA Power’s...

SAUDI ARABIA – Starting 2024, Saudi Arabia will tender seven desalination projects under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. According to the National Centre for Privatisation & PPP (NCP) the combined desalination capacity of the Independent Water Plant (IWP) projects will be 2.8 million m³/day. The IWPs would be procured under 25-year Build-Own-Operate (BOO) contracts.

The seven IWP projects consist of two facilities located in Ras Alkhair; IWP Ras Al Khair 2 and IWP Ras Al Khair 3 with production capacities of 600,000 m³/day...

U.S.A. – San Diego’s Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant was awarded $170 million in federal financing to upgrade its facility and meet environmental requirements. The low-interest loan is intended to help the plant’s owner, Poseidon Resources, meet state regulations for protecting fish and other marine life at the plant.

Part of the federal loan will help pay for the rehabilitation of 125 acres of coastal wetlands in San Diego Bay. Poseidon is mandated by the state to complete the project in order to offset potential...

IRAN – A joint venture consisting of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Japan have signed an agreement to build a desalination plant in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan. The plant will supply water to 50,000 people in Chabahar’s rural regions, including Komb, Ramin, Osmanabad and Balesar. (Financial Tribune)

CANADA – Oneka Technologies is working with Canada’s Ocean Supercluster on a new project to scale up the company’s wave energy-driven desalination technology to utility scale. The $10.3 million Oneka...

 U.S.A. – In its efforts to bolster availability during droughts, the Marin Municipal Water District recently began examining a list of new water supply options, including building a brackish desalination plant on the Petaluma River. The proposed brackish desalination plant is only in its conceptual phase but is estimated to produce 16,896 m³/day and to be less costly and require less energy compared to a desalination plant on San Francisco Bay. (Marin Independent Journal)

SAUDI ARABIA – Saudi Arabia is taking measures to ensure a...

U.K. –   South West Water (SWW) announced it is looking to build two new desalination plants at undisclosed locations in Cornwall’s south coast. If the plans get greenlighted, more than a third of Cornwall’s drinking would come from desalination. According to the company the region’s water sources are under persistent “immense and increasing pressure”. Currently, the U.K. has desalination plants in the Isles of Scilly and the Channel Islands, as well as a plant in London.

The two new plants would each have a production capacity of...

SAUDI ARABIA – Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) announced the consortium of ACWA POWER, Haji Abdullah Alireza & Co. (HAACO) and AlMoayyed Contracting Group (AMCG) as the preferred bidder for the Rabigh 4 Independent Water Plant (IWP) project.

The project will be located in Rabigh on the Red Sea coast and involves the construction and operation of a 600,000 m³/day reverse osmosis desalination plant as well as storage tanks with a total capacity of 1,200,00 m³. SWPC revealed that the preferred bidder submitted a water cost tariff of...

U.A.E – Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has awarded a contract for the construction of the Mirfa 2 Reverse Osmosis plant to a consortium made up of Taqa and France’s Engie. Taqa, also known as Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, will take a 60 percent share of the equity in the project, along with a stake in the operations and maintenance company. The remaining 40 percent will be held by Engie. The project is expected to become fully operational in the third quarter of 2025 and will utilize low-carbon technology to produce up to...

U.S.A. – South Coast Water District’s Doheny Ocean Desalination Project has been approved by the California Coastal Commission and the State Lands Commission. The plant will have a production capacity of 18,927 m³/d and will utilize subsurface slant wells to draw seawater in from beneath the ocean floor and pump it to the treatment facility. Construction of the slant wells beneath the Doheny State Beach Campgrounds is estimated to take up to 18 months and the project has so far received grants worth a total of $32.4 million. The plant is...

SAUDI ARABIA – ACCIONA has achieved a key milestone in the development of the Al Khobar 2 desalination plant, ramping up production to a full capacity of 630,000 m³/d during final testing. The new desalination plant in the east of Saudi Arabia is one of the largest in the country and the largest reverse osmosis facility built by ACCIONA worldwide. The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) awarded ACCIONA and its partner RTCC the construction of the Al Khobar 2 plant in 2020. The plant is already supplying the water network for Khobar...

MOROCCO – The Moroccan government has announced it is developing three new seawater desalination projects in the cities of El Jadida, Safi and in the Oriental Region. The Safi plant will have a production capacity of 86,400 m³/d and the El Jadida plant will produce at a rate of 75,800 m³/d. The plant to be set up in the Oriental region will have an initial capacity of 274,000 m³/d with the option to expand to 547,000 m³/d later. The Oriental region plant is still in the study phase and requires an investment of $125.7 million. The three...

INDIA – The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) new desalination project near Manori is on hold for now. Two months after getting a detailed project report from an appointed consultant, BMC still hasn’t initiated any proposal. The plant is estimated to produce 200,000 m³/d and is projected to cost $428 million.

BMC had appointed IDE Water Technologies Ltd., to prepare a proposal and engaged SMEC India to evaluate the study and designs prepared by IDE. After submitting the detailed project report the consultant approved the design, but...

U.S.A. – IDE Technologies Ltd is planning to build a $5.5 billion desalination plant in Sonora, Mexico, to supply drinking water to the state of Arizona, U.S.A. Last December IDE Technologies proposed the plan to the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA) of Arizona and the company has been waiting for purchasing commitment from the state’s authorities before it can officially move forward with the project.

The plant will be located in the city of Puerto Peñasco and will draw water from the Sea of Cortez and will be connected to a...

SAUDI ARABIA – Lamar Holding has signed a $693 million agreement with Saudi Aramco to construct a reverse osmosis desalination plant for the Jafurah gas development scheme. The facility will have a capacity of 80,000 m³/d and the project also includes a water distribution network and power and utility facilities. Besides Lamar Holding, Mowah Co. is also investing in the plant and SEPCO Electric Power Construction Corp. will be the assigned EPC contractor for the project. (Oil&Gas)

IRAN – The Iranian Energy Ministry is looking to add...

INDIA – The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) is accelerating construction work on Nemmeli’s third desalination plant and expects the plant to commence operation in April. Construction of the plant and the main water transmission pipelines is currently 80 percent completed. Once finished the plant will have the capacity to treat 150,000 m³/d. (The New Indian Express)

MEXICO – Los Cabos water utility Oomsapas in Mexico’s Baja California Sur state has resumed its plans to build a desalination plant in the...

SAUDI ARABIA – The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) of Saudi Arabia announced plans for an integrated reverse osmosis membrane desalination plant. The plant will be the first of its kind in the Middle East and only the second outside of Japan. Construction of the plant will be carried out by a Saudi-Japanese team in partnership with the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority, and the Government Expenditure and Projects Efficiency Authority. (ARAB NEWS)

The Saline Water Conversion Corporation recently also announced that...

MOROCCO – The Director General of the Moroccan National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (Onee) recently commissioned the Laayoune desalination plant. The plant has a production capacity of 26,000 m³/d and supplies drinking water to the populations of Laayoune, El Marsa, Foum El Oued and Tarouma in Western Sahara.

The $43.8 million plant in Laayoune is Onee’s fourth plant in operation in Morocco. The facility launched operations more than a year after the deadline set by Onee in June 2021 and will raise drinking water supply of the...

EGYPT – Egypt’s Engazaat is collaborating with Sweden’s Azelio and France’s Mascara Nouvelles Technologies to provide water to farms in Africa. The Save Cleantech Utilities coalition was announced on the sidelines of COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. The alliance aims to provide farmers in off-grid desert regions in Africa with a model for water and electricity services.

The alliance will set up water desalination systems via the Osmosun solution developed by Mascara and all the plants will be powered by renewable microgrids using solar...

QATAR – To accommodate with hosting the World Cup, Qatar has increased its water supply by 10% according to Kahramaa, the country’s water and electricity and utility. The increased water supply draws from Qatar’s large desalinated reserves as well as increasing daily desalination production capacity. The water is used to serve the needs of an expected 1.2 million fans and maintain thousands of acres of grass grown for football fields and training sites. Desalinated water makes up 60% of Qatar’s total water supply and the government heavily...