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The Madbouly government plans to launch its first tender for renewables-powered water desalination plants in partnership with the private sector in December, a government source told EnterpriseAM. The public-private partnerships (PPPs), which have been delayed for over two years, will move forward with an initial batch of two to four plants, we were told.
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REMEMBER- It was announced in December 2022 that Egypt will sign contracts to build 21 desalination plants in 2023, as part of the first USD 3 bn phase of the government’s plans since 2020 to expand the country’s desalination capacity. These plants are expected to process a combined 3.3 mn cubic meters of water per day. The program will later expand to 8.8 mn cubic meters per day by 2050 at a total cost of USD 8 bn. More than 200 developers from 35 countries at the time were said to have shown interest in bidding for the projects.
A lack of suitable land and issues with water characteristics and safety testing have been holding back the offerings, our source told us. Before the float of the EGP, senior officials also told EnterpriseAM that exchange rate fluctuations had complicated project calculations, resulting in delays.
What’s next? The same 17 consortiums previously prequalified by the Sovereign Fund of Egypt are still on to bid for the projects, the government source confirmed.
Even more water desalination projects incoming: The consortium that was awarded a USD 300 mn desalination plant in the SCZone — separate from the government’s PPPs — will be announced in 1Q 2026, the source said.
DATA POINT- As of the start of the year, Egypt operated 125 desalination plants, with a total combined capacity of 1.3 mn cubic meters per day, according to a statement from the Housing Ministry.
SPEAKING OF- The National Authority for Military Production signed an MoU with Japan’s Mizuha to cooperate on designing, testing, and manufacturing air-to-water generation stations with a capacity of 500 liters of drinking water per day, according to a Military Production Ministry statement. Mizuha will develop the first prototype, with both entities set to test, evaluate, and later mass-produce the stations for deployment in Egypt and export to neighboring countries and Africa.
REMEMBER- Mizuha and the ministry’s Helwan Company for Metallic Appliances had agreed last year to cooperate to produce Mizuha’s KuSui — a device that produces safe drinking water from air — locally.
