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“14 seawater desalination stations to deal with water stress”
Mohamed Arkab:
The Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, revealed that his sector contributes to the supply of drinking water, by implementing a “program for the construction of a seawater desalination station, including 14 agencies are already in service, with a production capacity of 2.3 million m³ per day.
On the sidelines of a parliamentary day devoted to the desalination of seawater, the first manager of the energy sector indicated that the latter contributes significantly to the supply of drinking water. To date, 14 desalination stations are in operation, with a production capacity of 2.3 million m3 per day.
Minister Arkab recalled that the President of the Republic has put in place a national water strategy for the period 2021-2030, aiming to meet the drinking water needs of Algerians mainly through the desalination of sea water. Arkab highlighted that the energy and mining sector is particularly active in densely populated coastal regions, thanks to the implementation of a program to build desalination plants.
Of these, three stations were recently completed as part of the emergency program launched in 2021 to alleviate the water shortage. These installations made it possible to increase the production of desalinated water by 13% in the 1st quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, reaching 170 million m3 compared to 150 million the previous year. A complementary program was also launched to build five new stations in the wilayas of Tipasa, Boumerdès, Oran, El Tarf and Béjaïa, with a total capacity of 1.5 million cubic meters per day. By 2025, these initiatives should make it possible to meet 42% of drinking water needs. The minister indicated that the completion rate of these new stations exceeds 65%, and these projects are carried out by national public companies belonging to the Sonatrach group. L’Algerienne des Énergies (AEC), a subsidiary of Sonatrach, has also started discussions with several international companies for the manufacturing of desalination equipment in Algeria, in order to reduce import costs and create local jobs.
At the beginning of the current year, AEC signed a memorandum of understanding with the German group PEL for the production of semi-permeable membranes in Algeria. This initiative is part of the national strategy aiming to cover 60% of drinking water needs through desalination by 2030, compared to 18% currently.
Furthermore, the sector contributed to resolving the water shortage by creating 80 wells in the wilaya of Algiers and its surroundings, with a total capacity of 110,000 cubic meters per day. However, Arkab noted that desalination in Algeria faces challenges, including the high cost of production due to the energy consumption of the stations.
In order to face these obstacles, the sector is trying to explore more efficient technologies and is considering using solar electricity, in order to reduce dependence on traditional energies and guarantee long-term water security for the country. .
Djamila Sai