Egypt’s sovereign fund gets the ball rolling on water desalination plants: Seventeen regional and international consortiums have been prequalified for the tender process for several desalination plants in Egypt as part of the first phase of the government’s desalination program, according to a statement (pdf) by the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE). The plants — built in several locations across the country — will be powered by renewable energy sources, according to the statement. SFE CEO Ayman Soliman said in statements last year that the first phase is estimated to cost USD 3 bn out of a total USD 8 bn for the project.

How it works: The tenders will be divided into four categories based on the capacity of the planned projects, the statement showed. Category A is for capacities reaching up to 1 mn cubic meters per day (cbm /d), Category B is for capacities up to 600k cbm / d, Category C is for capacities up to 400 cbm / d, and Category D will see lower capacities of up to 200k cbm / d.

Who’s throwing their hat in the ring? The statement provides a list of the prequalified companies and consortiums, with some of the names bidding on Category A (either independently or as part of a consortium) including renewables player Infinity, Public Investment Fund-backed Acwa Power, Orascom Construction, Scatec, Toyota Tsusho Corp, Acciona Agua, Metito Utilities, France’s Engie, and Hassan Allam Holding, among others. Bidders on Category B include Dubai-based renewable energy developer Amea Power, Taqa Arabia, and others. The categories with lower capacities will have bidders including DesalEgypt, Amarenco Solarize Egypt, and others.

What’s next: The SFE is planning to have three or four of these plants tendered by 3Q 2023, the Fund told EnterpriseAM. The remaining plants in the program’s first phase should be tendered in the next 18-24 months, they added.

REFRESHER- 28 bidders — including Gulf sovereign funds — have been vying for contracts to build 21 desalination plants Egypt is tendering to the private sector, Director of the Egyptian Finance Ministry’s PPP unit Atter Hannoura told EnterpriseAM late last year. He said at the time that plants are located on the Marsa Matrouh and Alamein coasts.

What we know: The ambitious water desalination program will involve the launch of several projects with a total planned capacity of 8.85 mn cbm / d by 2050 — of which 3.35 mn cbm / d is planned by 2025 as part of the first phase, according to the statement. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Finance Corporation have been brought in to “support in structuring and implementing the first batch of water desalination projects in partnership with the private sector, which entails retaining technical and legal consultants,” the statement said.

REMEMBER- Egypt needs over 114 bcm of water annually to achieve full self-sufficiency, but only 60 bcm is available each year, according to statements by former Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Atty. This has pushed Egypt to resort to alternatives despite hefty price tags, including the EGP 18 bn Bahr El Baqar wastewater treatment facility. Egypt’s USD 50 bn water plan could even grow to cost EGP 1 tn by 2037, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi previously said.