Algeria will invest $3 billion in the second phase of its ambitious water desalination expansion, with six new plants planned by 2030.
This initiative is part of a $5.4 billion project to bolster the country’s ability to provide drinking water as it faces increasing climate-related challenges, local news daily Alborsaa reported.
Lotfi Zennadi, CEO of the state-owned Algerian Energy Company, announced that this second phase will follow the commissioning of five new desalination plants in 2024 as part of $2.4 billion Phase 1.
The new plants will raise the amount of drinking water the country can produce from the Mediterranean from 2.2 million cubic metres per day (m3/day) to 3.7 million m3/day.
Together, the 11 sea water reverse osmosis (SWRO) plants, each capable of producing up to 300,000 m3/day of drinking water, will increase Algeria’s desalination capacity to 5.8 million m3/day, providing 60 percent of the country’s drinking water by the end of the decade.
Algerian Energy Company will operate the plants and charge the state-owned water distribution company Algérienne Des Eaux between 52 to 100 Algerian dinars/m3 ($0.39 to $0.76/m3).
(Writing by Majda Muhsen; Editing by Anoop Menon)
(anoop.menon@lseg.com)
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