Spanish water firm Abengoa Water and Japan’s largest importer of rare earth materials Sojitz Corp will deliver a $125 million reverse osmosis (RO) desalination project in the Republic of Ghana, Africa.
The project is slated to start operations in 2014 and is expected to supply 60,000 m3 of drinking water, which is sufficient for 500,000 people.
Desalinated water will be sold to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) under a long-term water sales contract of 25 years. The project will operate under a BOOT (build, own, operate and transfer) scheme.
The project follows a partnership signed between Sojitz and Abengoa in October 2011 to conduct joint development desalination projects, mainly in Africa and America.
Water demand in the Republic of Ghana (about 800,000 m3/day) is scarcely met by the supply (400,000 m3/day) in the region and 40% of the nation is unable to secure safe water.
The Republic of Ghana has enjoyed economic growth of about 5% annually over the past five years based on the mining (gold) and agriculture (cacao and timber) industries.
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