High cost prompts Senegal to cancel desalination deal with Acwa power

Senegal plans to cancel a 32-year deal with Saudi company Acwa power due to its high cost, Senegalese water minister Cheikh Tidiane Dieye said.

The deal, valued at $800 million, was signed by outgoing president Macky Sall in his final days in office. New president Basirou Faye promised to review a set of deals signed with foreign companies in the fields of energy and infrastructure.

The desalination plant was expected to be one of the largest on the continent with a daily capacity of 400,000 cubic meters, as the country seeks to ensure water supply amid prospects for a surge in demand.

The World Bank expects Senegal’s water demand to increase by 60% by 2035, due to demographic growth and urbanization. Climate change is also affecting water supply in the country that borders the dry Sahel region.

“The price of the water risks increasing because of the technology being used and the required environmental studies were not carried out,” the minister said, adding that “in three or four years we will need more than 400,000 cubic meters per day because the population of Dakar is growing.”