Acwa Power, a leading Saudi developer, investor, and operator of energy production, water desalination, and green hydrogen facilities around the world, has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the National Water Company of Senegal (Sones) and the National Electricity Company of Senegal (Senelec) for the development of a 300,000 cu m/day seawater reverse osmosis plant (SWRO) in Grande Côte.
The agreements were signed in the presence of Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal; Engineer Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Falih, the Saudi Minister of Investment; and Fahd bin Ali Al Dosary, the Saudi Ambassador to Senegal.
In close collaboration with Sones, Acwa Power will oversee the development of the SWRO plant, which, once completed, will be the largest desalination project of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa.
It is also the first desalination project in the country being implemented on a public-private partnership basis.
The second MoU will see Acwa Power working closely with Senelec to develop a combined cycle gas-turbine (CCGT) plant in Cap des Biches with an initial design capacity of 160MW.
In line with Senegal’s gas-to-power strategy, which aims to increase the country’s energy independence, reduce the cost of electricity, and provide universal access to electricity, the development of the new facility will furthermore assist the country’s efforts to reduce its GHG emissions by at least 23% by 2030, said Charles Fall, the Managing Director of Sones.
“The signing of these agreements is in anticipation of rapid demographic growth and consumer demand in the Dakar-Mbour-Thies triangle, which represents over 5 million consumers. Furthermore, this first PPP experience will have no impact on water prices, “he stated.
According to Fall, this partnership framework is a testimony of the strong cooperation ties between Saudi Arabia and Senegal and represents an opportunity for the local private sector through the creation of a Senegalese company operating under Senegalese law.
Acwa Power Chairman Mohammad Abunayyan said: “We are deeply honoured to contribute towards the strengthening ties between Saudi Arabia, our home country, and Senegal via the signing of two landmark MoUs today, and we extend our sincerest gratitude to the Senegalese leadership for their trust and confidence in Acwa Power’s ability to realise these strategic projects for the country.”
Acwa Power is leveraging its global expertise to support the nation’s sustainable and socio-economic development for years to come, “in line with our mandate to provide reliable delivery of power and desalinated water.” stated Abunayyan.
“As the largest private operator of water desalination plants in the world, Acwa Power today has a robust portfolio that collectively produces 6.4 million m3 of desalinated water per day and includes 10 mega-scale SWRO projects,” he added.
Abunayyan pointed out that Acwa Power would bring its long-standing experience as a leading developer and operator of desalinated water and power generation facilities to create utility infrastructure essential to Senegal’s future capacity requirements.
Acwa Power’s global power generation portfolio, which totals 42.7 GW, is made up of a combination of conventional power, natural gas, and renewable energy sources, according to Chief Investment Officer Clive Turton.
“We continue to be committed to our mandate to provide affordable, sustainable, and reliable electricity and desalinated water across the countries we operate in,” he continued.
