meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Egypt’s desalination projects inch forward

8 February 2024

This package on Egypt’s water sector also includes:

> Egypt expects desalination tender in May
> Egypt nears 6 October City wastewater tender
> Egypt invites Helwan wastewater prequalification
> Team wins Fayoum wastewater retrofit deal

 

Data shows Egypt’s per capita annual renewable water supply dwindled from 1,426 cubic metres in 1977 to about 558 cubic metres in 2022. This puts the North African state well below the water scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic metres a year per capita.

Climate change, inefficiency and the potential impact of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on water flows into the Nile River, which supplies up to 95 per cent of the country’s water requirements, will only exacerbate the water scarcity issue.

With a population of 113 million and one baby born every 19 seconds, Egypt must implement immediate measures and projects in line with its long-term water strategy to keep up with demand and avert a full-blown crisis, which would have a major impact on agriculture and economic output.

Government agencies have responded to the challenge by drawing up plans to modernise agricultural techniques to minimise water waste or develop unconventional water sources through the treatment of wastewater and seawater.

Currently, the country is understood to have over 60 water desalination plants with a total combined capacity of around 800,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

The government aims to grow this capacity 10-fold to 8.8 million cm/d by 2050 and has initiated an ambitious capacity procurement programme to reach this target.

In March last year, the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) and Washington-headquartered International Finance Corporation signed an advisory deal with The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) and the Egyptian government to support them in preparing and procuring the programme’s first four seawater desalination plants.

EBRD said the desalination project will help “to ensure Egypt’s water security, improve its resilience, mitigate the impact of climate change-induced freshwater scarcity and boost sustainable economic growth”.

The bank also stressed that the electricity used to power the desalination plants will be procured from renewable energy sources.

Two months later, in May 2023, TSFE prequalified 17 teams and companies that can bid for the contracts to develop up to 8.85 cm/d of renewable energy-powered desalination capacity in Egypt.

These companies and consortiums include the largest international and regional water utility developers and investors, as well as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors.

The entire programme will be procured in batches, with prequalified bidders split into four bands that will determine the capacity or size of the projects they can bid on.

In January 2024, Atter Ezzat Hannoura, public-private partnership (PPP) central unit director at Egypt’s Finance Ministry, said the target date for issuing the request for proposals for the first batch of water desalination plants is in May this year.

He also said the first batch of projects will comprise eight or nine seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plants, with a combined total capacity of up to 900,000 cm/d. This is significantly higher than the previously proposed four desalination plants with a capacity of under 500,000 cm/d.

Concerned authorities and ministries are still undertaking final discussions before the request for proposals can be released, according to Hannoura. One of these issues is how and where to source renewable power for the desalination plants.

The discussions are understood to revolve around two available options – drawing renewable power from the electricity grid or integrating solar farms into the desalination plants to minimise or eliminate their dependence on the grid.

Crucially, discussions are also focusing on the project structure to make them bankable.

As one expert points out, the planned water desalination PPP projects in Egypt, similar to its power generation capacity expansion plans, face multiple issues, not the least the creation of a more favourable business investment climate.

“We are monitoring the projects closely,” says a Dubai-based executive with a multinational bank. “We want to understand how they intend to manage the fiscal risks as well as the long-term nature of these projects, and how we might be able to play a role.”

Wastewater

Treating wastewater for reuse is another key element in Egypt’s water scarcity response. Some $2.1bn-worth of water treatment plant schemes are in the pre-execution phase in Egypt, according to the latest available data from regional projects tracker MEED Projects.

Egypt’s Construction Authority for Potable Water & Wastewater is undertaking the prequalification process for the contracts to design and build the next phases of the Gabal Al Asfar, Helwan and Alexandria West wastewater treatment plants.

Through Egypt’s PPP Central Unit, the New Urban Communities Authority (Nuca) has also initiated the procurement of an independent wastewater treatment plant (IWTP) in 6 October City, which is anticipated to have a design capacity of 150,000 cm/d.

The procuring authority is expected to issue the tender for the contract to develop and operate the project in the first quarter of 2024.

Under the current plan, the sewage treatment charge in the financial bids Nuca expects to receive will be split, with 70% in Egyptian pounds (£E) and 30% based on the US dollar, paid in £E at the prevailing US dollar/£E exchange rate on the day of payment.

Nuca is planning another IWTP facility in New Damietta along the Mediterranean coast, which will have a capacity of 50,000 cm/d.

  MEED’s March 2024 special report on Egypt also includes:

> Cairo beset by regional geopolitical storm
> More pain for more gain for Egypt
> Familiar realities threaten Egypt’s energy ambitions

 

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/11497556/main.jpg
Jennifer Aguinaldo

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Chinese contractor wins Morocco solar plant deal

    10 August 2026

    China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), has won a contract to build a solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Fez in northern Morocco.

    Known as GreenPower Morocco 4 (GPM4), the project is being developed by Moroccan company GPM Holding through its utility-scale solar subsidiary GPM Parks.

    The project covers engineering design, equipment procurement and installation, construction of an operation and maintenance building, grid connection and commissioning. It also includes upgrades to the associated substation.

    According to CHEC, the completed plant will supply electricity to the local grid, although it did not disclose the project’s capacity or contract value. 

    The project is being developed under Law 13-09, which provides Morocco’s framework for private renewable energy generation.

    According to its website, GPM Holding is also developing another solar PV project called GreenPower Morocco 2 (GPM2). This follows the completion of its first solar project, the 34MW project (GPM1) commissioned in Tangier in 2024. 

    GPM1 was developed by Green Power Morocco, a special purpose vehicle owned by GPM Holding and UAE-based Amea Power. The $30m project covers 75 hectares and includes 91,000 PV panels. It is expected to generate about 66,149MWh a year.

    The project has a 25-year power purchase agreement in place with Amendis, a subsidiary of Veolia Morocco. PowerChina was the main engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.

    Chinese contractors have previously been involved in other projects in Morocco’s renewable energy sector.

    Shandong Electric Power Construction Company (Sepco 3), a subsidiary of PowerChina, was part of the EPC consortium for the 200MW Noor 2 concentrated solar plants and 150MW Noor 3 concentrated solar power projects at the Noor Ouarzazate complex.

    New contract awards have been limited in Morocco in 2026, although six solar PV plants are now in the execution stage under phases one and two of the 305MW Noor Atlas solar PV programme.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18263680/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • Aramco puts out fire at Jizan refinery after Houthi strike

    10 August 2026

    Saudi Aramco said it had extinguished a fire that broke out at its Jizan refinery on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast after the facility was hit in drone strikes by Yemen-based Houthi rebels on 9 August.

    The kingdom’s Ministry of Energy said the fire occurred at an Aramco refinery facility in Jizan and that emergency authorities had completed the necessary procedures to deal with the incident.

    The energy ministry did not say what started the fire, saying only that the incident caused no injuries.

    The Houthi rebels later claimed responsibility for the attack.

    The province of Jizan lies close to Saudi Arabia’s border with Yemen and has repeatedly been targeted by the Houthis in attacks on the kingdom’s energy infrastructure.

    The strike on the Jizan refinery was the second attack on the facility by the Houthis in as many weeks. Aramco shut the refinery on 27 July following a similar drone strike, which, according to media reports, damaged the integrated gasification combined-cycle unit and tank farm at the complex.

    On a call with investors to discuss Aramco’s second-quarter results, CEO Amin Nasser said recent attacks on the company’s facilities in the world’s top oil-exporting country had caused some disruption to production, but that he was confident operations could be restored quickly. He said the attacks had had no material operational or financial impact.

    Jizan refinery complex

    Saudi Aramco’s sprawling Jizan refinery complex entered operations in 2021.

    Aramco undertook the estimated $16bn-plus project in late 2010. The scheme consists of a refinery with an output capacity of 400,000 barrels a day (b/d), a major marine terminal and a 4GW combined-cycle power plant in Baish, in Saudi Arabia’s southwestern Jizan region.

    The Jizan refinery covers an area of 12 square kilometres. The complex processes Arabian Heavy and Arabian Medium crude grades to produce 80 million b/d of gasoline, 250 million b/d of diesel and more than 1 million tonnes a year of petrochemical products such as benzene and paraxylene.

    A multiple-pier marine terminal supports the supply of crude oil from oil fields located mainly in the kingdom’s Eastern Province to the refinery, as well as the export of surplus refined products to overseas markets. The terminal has been designed to accommodate very large crude carriers.

    A 4,000MW combined-cycle power plant uses approximately 90,000 b/d of vacuum residue from the refinery to generate electricity, hydrogen and water for the refinery, while conveying excess power to the national grid.

    The hydrocracker unit comprises two parallel trains with a combined capacity of 54,500 b/d. The diesel hydrotreater plant comprises two trains, each with a capacity of 87,500 b/d.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18262347/main.jpg
    Indrajit Sen
  • Shamal picks Dutco for Dubai Zoo site homes

    10 August 2026

    Dubai-based Shamal Holding has awarded local contractor Dutco Construction the main construction works contract for a low-rise residential project on the site of the former Dubai Zoo in Jumeirah 1.

    The project will comprise 90 low-rise homes and is designed as a residential leasing community that will remain under Shamal’s ownership, with all homes offered for premium leasing.

    The development will retain mature trees from the former zoo and is planned around shared courtyards, landscaped open spaces and a central park. Residents will have access to a clubhouse, wellness area, children’s play area, family pool, lounge and gym.

    The architect is DXB Lab. The local H&H is the development manager for the project.

    Dutco has previously worked with Shamal on infrastructure elements of the Dubai Harbour and Dubai Harbour Marinas developments.

    Shamal’s wider real estate portfolio includes the Naia Island, Dubai Harbour and Nad Al-Sheba Gardens developments. The company also holds hospitality and leisure assets, including partnerships with Jumeirah, Hilton and Baccarat, and operates attractions such as Skydive Dubai and Deep Dive Dubai.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18262386/main.png
    Colin Foreman
  • WEBINAR: Mena Oil & Gas Projects Market 2026-27

    10 August 2026

    Webinar: Mena Oil & Gas Projects Market 2026-27 
    Thursday 27 August 2026 | 11:00 AM GST  |  Register now

    Agenda:

    • Summary of the Mena oil, gas and petrochemicals projects market 
    • Overview of major megaprojects, including project programmes
    • Analysis of active contracts and spending to date
    • Review of top contracts by work already awarded
    • Long-term capital expenditure outlays and forecasts
    • Key contracts expected to be tendered and awarded over the next 18 months
    • Leading clients, contractors and market participants
    • Spending by segment: oil, gas and petrochemicals (upstream, downstream, onshore and offshore) 
    • Audience Q&A 

    Hosted by: Indrajit Sen, MEED’s oil & gas editor

    Click here to register

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18260597/main.gif
    Indrajit Sen
  • Spanish firm renews Yanbu desalination O&M contract

    10 August 2026

    Spain’s Aqualia has announced it has renewed a contract to operate and maintain three floating desalination plants in Yanbu on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.

    The contract was awarded by the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) and will run until 14 September 2028, with an option to extend for a further two years.

    The three reverse osmosis (RO) plants are mounted on barges and have a combined production capacity of 150,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d). Each plant has a capacity of 50,000 cm/d.

    The three plants were originally deployed at Al-Shuqaiq and are designed to be relocated along Saudi Arabia’s coastline according to water demand. The barges are currently located at Yanbu.

    The $255m floating desalination project was commissioned for the Saudi Water Authority in 2022, with Bahri as the developer and UAE-based Metitio as the main contractor.

    Bahri is publicly listed on the Saudi Exchange but has significant government ownership, with the Public Investment Fund (PIF) holding 22.5% and Saudi Aramco Development Company owning 20% of the company.

    Aqualia is providing operation and maintenance services in Saudi Arabia through its joint venture Haji Abdullah Alireza Integrated Services Company (Haaisco), in which it holds a 51% stake.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/18259350/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall