Amid a worsening drought that has led to water rationing and riots, Algeria is investing $5.4 billion to expand its desalination infrastructure, aiming to tackle the nation’s growing water crisis. The country, already home to Africa’s largest desalination facilities, is ramping up efforts as rainfall continues to decline, threatening its water supply.
This year, five new desalination plants will come online, boosting Algeria’s capacity, and producing 3.7 million cubic meters of drinking water daily from the Mediterranean Sea—equivalent to almost 54,500 average U.S. swimming pools.
By 2030, six more plants are planned, at which point the nation will be sourcing 60% of its drinking water from desalination.
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While desalination offers a potential solution, it is also an expensive and energy-intensive process, requiring significant resources to remove salt from seawater.
Algeria’s role as a leading natural gas producer could help mitigate some of these costs, with the government planning to subsidize 95% of the estimated $2.8 million daily operating expenses for the desalination plants.
Algeria’s move reflects a broader trend across Africa, as other nations turn to desalination to address water scarcity. Morocco is set to invest over $3 billion to build its own facilities, while South Africa successfully used desalination technology to prevent a total water shortage in Cape Town during the 2018 crisis.
[Jack Aylmer]
A SEVERE DROUGHT IN ONE AFRICAN NATION HAS LEAD TO RIOTS OVER WATER RATIONING IN RECENT MONTHS.
AS RAINFALL CONTINUES TO DECLINE – AUTHORITIES ARE LOOKING TO A COSTLY SOLUTION.
ALEGRIA’S GOVERNMENT IS SPENDING ALMOST FIVE AND A HALF BILLION DOLLARS ON IMPROVING THE NATION’S DESALINATION PLANTS-
WHICH ARE ALREADY THE LARGEST SUCH FACILITIES IN ALL OF AFRICA.
FIVE NEW DESALINATION PLANTS ARE SET TO COME ONLINE THIS YEAR, BOOSTING ALGERIA’S DAILY PRODUCTION OF WATER FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA TO 3.7 MILLION CUBIC METERS-
ROUGHLY EQUIVALENT TO NEARLY 54 AND A HALF THOUSAND AVERAGE U.S. SWIMMING POOLS.
BY 2030, SIX ADDITIONAL FACILITIES ARE PLANNED, PUSHING THE COUNTRY TOWARDS SOURCING 60% OF ITS DRINKING WATER FROM DESALINATION.
HOWEVER, THIS PROCESS IS ALSO HIGHLY EXPENSIVE WITH THE MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF ENERGY REQUIRED TO SEPARATE SALT FROM WATER.
BUT ALGERIA’S STATUS AS A LEADING PRODUCING OF NATURAL GAS MAY HELP OFFSET SOME OF THOSE COSTS.
GETTING WATER FROM THESE PLANTS WILL COST THE COUNTRY AS MUCH AS 2.8 MILLION DOLLARS EVERY DAY-
OF WHICH THE GOVERNMENT PLANS TO SUBSIDIZE 95 PERCENT OF.
THE MOVE COMES AS OTHER AFRICAN NATIONS TURN TO USING DESALINATION FOR THEIR DRINKING WATER.
MOROCCO IS EXPECTED TO SPEND OVER THREE BILLION DOLLARS TO BUILD FACILITIES OF ITS OWN-
WHILE SOUTH AFRICA UTILIZED THE TECHNOLOGY TO SAVE ITS CAPITAL OF CAPE TOWN FROM A COMPLETE WATER SHORTAGE IN 20-18.
JACK AYLMER – STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS.
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