Algeria Energy Company (AEC) has chosen Singapore’s Hyflux to build a new desalination plant at Magtaa, in Oran region, western Algeria. The total contract value is US $468 million.
The facility will have a capacity 500,000 m3 of drinking water per day and will use reverse osmosis membrane technology.
The contract was awarded through Hyflux’s wholly-owned subsidiary MenaSpring Utility, which will hold a 51% stake in the joint-venture company set up to run the project. AEC will own the remaining shares. The deal was awarded on design-own-operate-transfer basis.
The project company will supply water under a 25-year concession agreement to state-owned water firm L’Algerienne Des Eaux and national oil company Sonatrach on a take-or-pay basis. Startup is pencilled in for around 2.5 years after the financing has been put in place.
“This is largest project to be undertaken by the company to date,” said Hyflux CEO Olivia Lum. “In addition to being the most competitive bidder, our proven track record in delivering large-scale desalination projects, coupled with our proprietary membrane technology and our ability to offer total integrated solutions were the key to winning the bid.”
Hyflux is already building a 200,000 m3 per day desalination plant in Tlemcen, also in Algeria. The firm said that upon completion of the two projects it would be the country’s largest provider of desalinated water, contributing to more than 30% of the total installed capacity.
