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Rabat – Desalination company ACWA Power has announced a large-scale seawater desalination project in West Africa, seeking to provide up to 400,000 cubic meters of drinking water per day to Senegal’s Dakar and surrounding areas.
Valued at $800 million, the Grade-Cote project is part of the company’s “commitment to Africa’s energy transition,” AQWA Power said in a statement, describing the initiative as a major step toward helping Senegal attain water security.
The company signed the agreement in a ceremony that took place at the Presidential Palace in Dakar. Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye attended the signing ceremony alongside high-level officials, including Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, Minister of Water and Sanitation.
A high-level Saudi delegation also attended the ceremony, including Saad bin Abdullah Al-Nafaie, Saudi ambassador to Senegal, among several other representatives.
“The Grande-Cote project is the most ambitious desalination initiative ever launched in West Africa,” the statement said, stressing that the project will be developed into two phases.
The first financial closing is expected by 2026. The full commercial operation is expected in 2031, the statement said, emphasizing that one of the key features of the project is its complete reliance on green electricity supplied by Senegal’s national grid.
“This makes Grande-Cote one of the few large-scale desalination plants in the world to operate entirely on renewable energy,” the statement said.
Raad Al Saady, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of ACWA Power, commented on the signing of the agreement, describing it as a crucial step in the collaboration with Senegal.
“It reflects our deep commitment to sustainable development and our role as a trusted partner in addressing global water challenges,” he said.
Senegal is among the countries that face a water shortage. In 2022, the World Bank said that current water withdrawals are projected to increase by 3o to 60 % by 2035.
“The Dakar area is especially at risk, concentrating 50 percent of Senegal’s GDP production and close to half its population, and will need to diversify water sources and improve cross-sectoral coordination,” the World Bank said.
