Construction of Cap Djinet and Fouka 2 desalination plants in Algeria begins

Construction of Cap Djinet and Fouka 2 desalination plants in Algeria has begun. The country’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune laid foundation stones to mark the start of works on the projects.

The Cap Djinet seawater desalination plant, located in the wilaya (province) of Boumerdès, and the Fouka 2 seawater desalination plant, situated in the wilaya of Tipaza, were both initiated by Tebboune. The projects are being carried out by the Algeria Energy Company (AEC).

The Cap Djinet plant is being constructed on a 16-hectare site by the national civil engineering and construction company (GCB) and the national company for major well works (GTP). It will consist of ten seawater desalination units utilizing reverse osmosis technology.

READ:DRC to develop two solar power plants

Road to curbing water crisis

The works will be supervised by Miah Cap Djinet, a subsidiary of AEC. The plant is expected to have a capacity of 300,000 cubic meters (m3) and is aimed at improving the drinking water supply for 3 million people in Boumerdès and Algiers. These areas have been facing water shortages, partially attributed to drought. The completion of the Cap Djinet plant is scheduled for December 2024.

On the other hand Fouka 2 seawater desalination plant, identical in size to the Cap Djinet facility, will be constructed on a 7-hectare site by the national company Cosider Canalisations, another subsidiary of AEC. The aim of the Fouka 2 plant is to provide drinking water to 3 million people in the western part of the Tipaza wilaya and part of the Blida wilaya by 2025.

These two desalination plants are part of a larger plan to construct five seawater desalination plants in various wilayas, or provinces, of Algeria. The other three wilayas involved in this initiative are Oran, El Tarf, and Bejaïa. Each of the facilities will have a daily desalination capacity of 300,000 m3, resulting in a combined capacity of 1.5 million m3 for all the plants. This expansion in desalination infrastructure will significantly increase the share of desalinated water in Algeria’s overall drinking water production, raising it from 17% to 42%. Currently, the country operates 14 seawater desalination plants.