Egypt plans to implement 4 desalination plants worth $350M

CAIRO - 29 April 2024: Egypt plans to tender bids for the establishment of four desalination plants at a total cost of $350 million, with some near Ras El Hikma by mid-July, according to Atter Hanoura, head of the Public-Private Partnership Unit at the Egyptian Ministry of Finance.

 

Hanoura added that 17 consortia have qualified for the tender since nearly a year ago, and they will be notified to obtain the tender documents. 

 

He continued that the targeted production capacity of the four plants ranges from 300 to 400 thousand cubic meters per day of potable water for use in sites including the Dabaa area and others near Ras El Hikma, according to the Arab News Agency (ANA).

 

Hanoura explained that the qualified consortia include Gulf, Chinese, European, and Egyptian blocs, including large companies such as Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power, Orascom Construction, Hassan Allam, Samcrete, and AAW Consulting Engineers.

 

He noted that the plants will be tendered under the BOT system, short for Build-Operate-Transfer, which is one of the tools of partnership with the private sector. The Egyptian government seeks to develop extensions of the North Coast bordering the Mediterranean Sea between Alexandria and Matrouh.

 

The Egyptian government and ADQ, the Abu Dhabi sovereign investment company, signed in February a contract to develop and enhance Ras El Hikma City with total foreign direct investments of $35 billion.

 

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said at the time that the project's investments, from which Egypt will receive 35 percent of its returns, include converting Emirati deposits in Egypt worth $11 billion into Egyptian pounds for use in project development.