Water. Desalination + reuse
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/792465
6 The Quarterly March 2017 Water. desalination + reuse What happened? Who covered it? Why does it matter? Jordan Five on shortlist for Red Sea-Dead Sea Suez and Mitsubishi among those to prequalify for prestigious project US Mega plant surprise Leaked list a boost for Huntington Beach US Speculation abounds on GE bids Private equity groups in three-way auction for GE Water Saudi Arabia Shake-up of desalination policy More private partners sought for upgrade of plant portfolio The Jordan Times reported on the five companies shortlisted by Jordan's Water and Irrigation Ministry for the Red Sea-Dead Sea project, which it described as a "leading strategic project on a national and regional scale". The story pegged the cost of the whole plan at $1.1 billion. It gave the capacity of the proposed desalination plant north of Aqaba as 80 million to 100 million m3/y (219,000 to 274,000 m3/d). The Kansas City Star got its hands on a leaked document showing the top 50 infrastructure projects favoured by then incoming US president Donald Trump. Poseidon's proposed Huntington Beach desalination mega plant was number 44 on the priority list, and described as a project that would create 400 direct jobs. The story was taken up across the internet and particularly by press outlets in California. While the leaked report put the cost of the plant at $350 million, news media cited it as closer to $1 billion. Speculation abounds as to the sale of GE Water. The New York Post reported that Blackstone Group, Bain Capital, and Clayton Dubilier & Rice were in an auction for a business with a price tag of about $3 billion. Investment writers The Motley Fool pointed out that Blackstone has experience of making a good return on similar acquisitions – it bought Ondeo Nalco in 2003 and sold it on profitably in 2007. GE Water would be "comparatively small potatoes" for Blackstone, as it has been for GE. Arab News, the Middle East English language daily, set out Saudi Arabia's plans for upgrading and expanding its national seawater desalination plant portfolio, following the Water Investment Forum in Riyadh in November 2016. It reported that environment, water and agriculture minister Abdul Rahman Al-Fadli wants to double the volume of desalinated water by 2030. Meanwhile Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) governor Ali Al-Hazmi was quoted as saying: "Future plants will be tendered to the private sector." This is a grandstand project for Jordan and the wider region, and will garner international attention and acclaim if successful. It will also help to regenerate tourism and the wider economy of the region. A stunning 17 consortia comprising 60 companies from around the world participated in the prequalification stage. The five shortlisted are CNTIC Consortium (China National Technical Import & Export Corporation), Hutchison Water International Holdings, Korea Water Resources Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and Suez International SAS. With the award-winning Carlsbad desalination mega plant on the California coast in San Diego County, a second big desal facility up the coast in Orange County would establish the technology as a major water source in California, potentially influencing further decisions about plants in the US and beyond. According to the Motley Fool: "There's no reason to think Blackstone couldn't have similar success with GE Water." The prognosis suggests a potential whirlwind ride ahead for GE Water's estimated 8,000 employees globally. A successful growth story at GE Water could be a bellwether for the water industry and would be welcome. Public-private partnerships in the sizeable Saudi desal market are a big opportunity for global desal companies. The ministry has earmarked $50 billion for eight new public-private partnership desalination projects, and wants to sell 29 existing facilities to private investors. The programme of new plants covers total installed capacity of 2.6 million m3/d and 3,000 MW, and seven transmission systems with capacity of 4.3 million m3/d. The 29 existing plants have installed capacity of 4.6 million m3/d and 7,305 MW, and have 21 transmission systems. The Quarterly