Tunisia's President Kaïs Saïed has officially inaugurated the Zarat desalination plant to address the country's pressing water scarcity issues, according to Afrik21.
The facility, designed to mitigate the overexploitation of groundwater resources exacerbated by prolonged droughts and the depletion of surface water sources, marks a major development in Tunisia’s water infrastructure.
Developed by the Indian company Va Tech Wabag, the Zarat plant has an initial capacity to produce 50,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day. This capacity is set to double to 100,000 cubic meters by 2027. The seawater, sourced from a nearby pumping station, travels through a network of 1,800 mm diameter pipes to reach storage tanks, each with a capacity of 10,000 cubic meters.
The facility also features a brine discharge system that integrates with the existing network through 1,400 mm diameter pipes. Va Tech Wabag, based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, undertook the engineering, procurement, and construction services for the project, under a 2019 agreement with Tunisia’s National Agency for Operations and Water Distribution (SONEDE).
By 2035, the Zarat desalination plant is expected to provide drinking water to around one million residents across the governorates of Gabes, Médenine, and Tataouine. The construction of the plant was co-financed by the Tunisian government and the German development agency Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), with a total investment of $105 million.
The plant is scheduled to begin operations at the end of July 2024. It is the first of three seawater desalination plants set to become operational by the end of the year, with the other two located in Sfax and Sousse.
