PowerChina has secured a major contract worth around $4 billion to build Iraq's first large-scale seawater desalination plant in the southern city of Basra, in partnership with a local company Al Ridha Group, said a report.
The groundbreaking ceremony for the 1 million cu m facility was held today (July 24) in the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani and other senior officials.
An ambitious project for the country, the Basra Seawater Desalination Plant is set to begin commercial operations in June 2028, said a statement from Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)..
The project also includes the construction of a 300MW power plant for supplying electricity to the desalination facility, it stated.
It is part of the Iraqi government’s attempts to alleviate chronic water shortages in the southern part of the country.
During the project implementation period, smaller-scale desalination stations will be installed throughout the governorate to provide safe drinking water to citizens, said the PMO office statement.
These include the Shatt Al Arab desalination plant with a 5,000 cu m per hour capacity, the Al Faw and Al Siba plants (each with a 3,000 cu m per hour capacity), the Abu Flous desalination plant with a 3,000 cu m per hour capacity as well as the Safwan desalination plant with a capacity of 1,000 cu m per hour, it added.-TradeArabia News Service
