Hyflux to develop two water desalination plants in Libya

Libya’s General Desalination Company (GDC) has signed a memorandum of agreement with water treatment system provider Hyflux. The agreement gives Hyflux the right to work with GDC to jointly invest in and develop two reverse osmosis desalination plants in Libya.

GDC and Hyflux will develop two treatment plants

The two plants will be located in Tripoli and Benghazi – Libya’s two largest cities – and will have capacities of approximately 500,000 cubic metres and 400,000 cubic metres respectively.  Joint venture companies are expected to be formed to design, build, own and operate the plants, which will eventually be transferred to the public sector, Hyflux said in a statement.

The agreement with Hyflux indicates that the private sector taking an increasing role in Libya’s infrastructure development. Earlier this month, the country awarded an €118 million ($167 million) contract to TAQA Arabia, a gas distributor backed by Egypt-based private equity firm Citadel Capital, to build the infrastructure for a gas distribution network linking 370,000 households across Tripoli, Benghazi and Misurata.

Between 1990 and 2007, Libya has had no private sector investments in infrastructure reach financial close, according to the World Bank’s Private Participation in Infrastructure Database.

GDC – the commercial arm of the Libyan Ministry of Utilities – is in charge of the management, operation and maintenance of the country's sea water desalination plants. Currently, Libya has eight desalination plants with a total installed capacity of 390,000 cubic metres per day.

Set up in 1989 and listed on the Singapore stock exchange, Hyflux provides technologies such as water recycling, wastewater and potable water treatment, and renewable resources management in oil recycling, alcohol fermentation and palm oil clarification.

The Singapore-based firm has operations and projects in Southeast Asia, China, India and the Middle East and North Africa.