SHARM-EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (26 March 2015)—RWL Water & Orascom Construction Limited (OCL) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Egyptian government to proceed with the feasibility study for building, financing and operating the first large desalination plant in Egypt for the supply of potable water. The project will include the development of an 80,000 cubic meters per day plant with a possibility to increase its capacity in the future.
The Egypt government and RWL Water/OCL intend to enter into a water supply agreement after finalization of the study.
RWL Water is the leading partner in the consortium with Orascom in this BOT project. The memorandum of understanding was signed and announced during the Global Egypt Economic Development Conference. More than 80 world leaders and 2,000 representatives attended the conference from all major international companies.
“This agreement showcases RWL Water as a global leader in water desalination and Orascom Construction’s commitment to working closely with the Egyptian government to solve Egypt’s water scarcity challenges in the private sector for industrial investments,” said Karim Nasr, RWL Water’s Managing Director in the Middle East. “We take our commitment to providing water solutions seriously. As soon as the agreement was signed, our work began and a dedicated team will be on the ground to proceed with the execution within days,” he added.
“We are very excited to join forces with Orascom on this important project for the necessary increase of potable water for Egypt, which will have a very positive impact on the economic development of the country. The signing of this MoU is the first step towards RWL Water’s investment in this, and similar kind of projects, in the MENA region,” said Henry J. Charrabé, President & CEO of RWL Water.