Orascom Construction, Scatec ASA and Metito Holdings Ltd are in discussion with Egypt on a $1.5 billion renewables-powered desalination plant, reports Bloomberg.
Previously, the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources announced that a strategy based on four points had been developed to resolve all water-related problems facing Egypt up until 2050.
Karim Madwar, Managing Director of Metito, has confirmed that the consortium is discussing with Egypt’s sovereign wealth fund to partner on the project that would follow a build, own, operate and transfer system.
Smart Water Magazine had previously reported that Metito was looking to expand in the Middle East, including Libya, Egypt and Iraq.
Egypt has announced plans for a swathe of new desalination plants, including a $2.5 billion initiative involving the sovereign fund and private investors to build more than a dozen renewables-powered facilities by 2025.
In an interview, Madwar said the consortium’s proposal involves a 400-megawatt solar-power facility and a desalination plant able to process as much as 1 million to 2 million cubic meters per day.
He added that Egypt also has potential for floating mobile desalination plants like the three Metito is delivering in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier in February, Egypt’s cabinet said Abdul Latif Jameel Energy & Environmental Services and Hassan Allam Holding submitted an offer to build a desalination plant that targets producing about 2.9 million cubic meters per day of water by 2030.
