Magtaa RO Desalination Plant, Algeria

Magtaa desalination plant is being built at Oran in north-west Algeria. It is being constructed by Tahlyat Myah Magtaa SpA on a design-build-own-operate-transfer (DBOOT) basis. Work started in October 2008 and should be completed in 2011.

Algerian Energy Company (AEC) won the Magtaa contract from the Algerian Government in an open tender and sub-contracted the project to Hyflux, which has a record of delivering large-scale desalination projects efficiently. Hyflux and Malaysia's Malakoff Bhd signed an agreement with AEC to run the plant for 25 years. AEC and Hyflux also incorporated joint venture company Tahlyat Myah Magtaa SpA.

Under the agreement AEC holds 49% of the project, which is expected to be completed in 24 months. The remaining 51% (about $468m) is owned by Malakoff and Hyflux.

Hyflux won the contract to design, build and manage the plant, which will use reverse osmosis (RO) technology. On 29 September 2009 Hyflux awarded a contract to Toray for the supply of reverse osmosis membrane by 2010.

The Magtaa plant will contribute between S$5m and S$15m of annual profit to Hyflux once it starts operating.

Purpose of project

The Magtaa plant is a long-term project designed to provide drinking water for Algeria. The country faces some of the most severe water shortages in the world.

The Magtaa seawater desalination plant will be the third such plant in Algeria. It is expected to supply water for almost 2 million people in Magtaa.

Capacity

Under the Hyflux agreement the project company must supply 500,000cu.m/day of desalinated water to L'Algerienne Des Eaux (ADE), a state-owned national public water entity in Algeria.

Technology

The water must be treated to remove boron and salts. Reverse osmosis membrane with an extremely small pore size of 1Å is used for this process. The pore size has the potential to dramatically reduce the plant's desalination capacity. To overcome this obstacle Toray is exploiting proprietary molecular design technology.

Kristal ultra-filtration polymeric hollow fibre, manufactured by Hyflux, is used during the desalination process. However, as the Magtaa plant is based on RO technology, Hyflex contracted Toray to supply RO membrane. Toray has also supplied RO membrane to two other plants in Algeria.

Treatment

Seawater is forced through a fine-pored membrane using a pump. A dense layer in the RO membranes' polymer matrix acts as a barrier and assists in separation.

Water molecules pass through the pores while salt and impurities are retained.

External pressure is required to reverse the flow of water because in regular osmosis, water molecules naturally flow from higher concentrations to lower concentrations. Usually a 40bar to 70bar (600psi to 1,000 psi) pressure is applied.

Key players

Toray will supply the RO membrane. ABB will supply 220kV of power to the plant.

In April 2009 Algerian banks provided the project with 70% finance, while the remaining 30% has been arranged by Hyflux. Algerian banks and the Banque Nationale d'Algérie provided financing at a very low interest rate of 3.75% a year to Hyflux.

Marketing commentary

Hyflux won Global Water Intelligence's Water Company of the Year award in 2006. It appeared in the list of the Best Under a Billion companies compiled by Forbes in 2006 and 2007. It also won Frost and Sullivan's Technology Innovation of the Year Award 2007 in desalination technologies. These awards helped Hyflux win the Magtaa sub-contract.