Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power-led consortium to construct seawater desalination plant in Azerbaijan

BAKU. Jan 16 (Interfax) - Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power, together with Turkey's IC Ictas Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., plans to construct a plant in Azerbaijan to produce drinking water by desalinating seawater, Azerbaijan's Ministry of Economy told Interfax.

"The consortium led by ACWA Power placed first based on the technical and financial evaluation of the proposals submitted to the competition. Israel's IDE Water Assets Ltd. placed second and the United Arab Emirates' Metito Utilities Ltd. placed third in the competition," the ministry said.

There are plans as part of the project to construct an enterprise with capacity of 300,000 cubic meters of water per day at the Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park using the consortium's investments. The construction period is 2.5 years.

The agreement envisages that the project is intended for 27.5 years, after which plant management will be transferred to Azerbaijan.

"The project's goals are to meet the growing demand for drinking water in Baku and on the Absheron Peninsula, diversify fresh water sources, incentivize international experience and transfer of technology in the area of supplying drinking water, as well as attract foreign investment," the Ministry of Economy said.

However, the ministry has not specified the amount of investment.

Founded in 2004, ACWA Power is a leading company in the area of water desalination and green hydrogen production, with a portfolio that includes 94 projects worth $97 billion.

IC Ictas Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret has over 50 years' experience in large-scale projects in the areas of industry, infrastructure, investment, energy production, and tourism.