Almar Water Solutions, a water solutions unit of Saudi Arabia-based Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, has signed two water infrastructure project development agreements in Egypt and Bahrain
In the first agreement, Almar Water Solutions has formed a joint venture (JV) with HA Utilities (HAU), part of Hassan Allam Holding (HAH), to provide sustainable water infrastructure to municipal and industrial clients in Egypt.
The JV is expected to work on developing water and wastewater management, build-own-transfer (BOT) and build-own-operate (BOO) business model projects in Egypt. It intends to take an active role as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) investor and an operation and maintenance (O&M) supplier. It further focuses on pursuing new greenfield projects and exploring acquisitions of brownfield assets and O&M service companies.
In a second deal, Almar Water Solutions has acquired Mubadala Infrastructure Partners’ water investment in Muharraq STP Company (MSC) in Bahrain.
MSC builds, owns and operates a 100,000 cu/m per day wastewater treatment plant and sewer conveyance system in Bahrain. The conveyance system includes the first 16.5-km deep gravity sewer trunk pipeline in the GCC region and a wastewater collection network.
Speaking on the agreements, Fady Jameel, deputy president and vice-chairman of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, said, “Governments across the region are pursuing ambitious policy programmes such as Vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia. Sustainable development and resource management are crucial to their success.”
The Middle East and Africa face some of the most pressing water challenges anywhere in the world as rapid development and growing populations put pressure on scarce water resources. The agreements aim to help meet this growing demand, Jameel noted.
Marking further development to the company’s water infrastructure projects in the Middle East and Africa, Abdul Latif Jameel Energy has won contracts to develop one of the world’s largest desalination projects in Al Shuqaiq in Saudi Arabia and first large-scale desalination plant in Kenya’s Mombasa. The projects, together, are set to supply drinking water to close to three million people.
