Spanish firm to design desalination plant in Azerbaijan's Sumgayit

Spanish engineering firm Savener has been selected to provide engineering and design services for a major seawater desalination project in Azerbaijan, as the country moves ahead with plans to expand its water supply infrastructure.

Savener has secured a contract to design a reverse-osmosis desalination facility in Sumgayit, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

The plant, planned for the Sumgayit Chemical Industrial Park, will have a capacity of 300,000 cubic metres of desalinated water per day and is expected to provide drinking water for nearly 3 million people.

Savener was brought into the project by HDEC (Huadong Engineering Corporation), a PowerChina Group company serving as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power is the project developer, while construction is being carried out by a consortium comprising ACWA Power and Türkiye’s IC İçtaş İnşaat.

Savener has already commenced work on the project and brings extensive international experience in the desalination sector. Its previous projects include major facilities in Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Morocco.

The project is expected to operate for 27.5 years under the terms of the agreement, after which responsibility for managing the facility will be transferred to Azerbaijan’s State Water Resources Agency.

The desalination plant is scheduled to enter service in the fourth quarter of 2028. The total investment in the project is estimated at $407 million, making it one of Azerbaijan’s major ongoing water infrastructure initiatives.

By Vafa Guliyeva