Matthew Phan, Business Times 2 Apr 08;
(SINGAPORE) Hyflux said yesterday it is bidding for a US$500 million contract to build a seawater desalination plant in Algeria, in an announcement made in response to news reports.
But it may not yet have secured the contract for sure, as the reports imply.
'Singaporean company Hyflux Ltd will build a water desalination plant for an investment of US$468 million in the Oran region, western Algeria, within the next 36 months with a capacity of 500,000 cubic metres per day,' said a Thompson Financial report, quoting the APS press agency.
Hyflux confirmed details on the plant's size and location.
But while 'it has been advised that it is the most competitive bidder', out of the five international bidders, 'the official result of the successful bidding has not yet been released by the relevant Algerian authority', it said.
Asked when the official result would be released, Hyflux said it was unable to comment at this stage.
The plant will be the world's largest seawater desalination plant using membrane technology, as well as in terms of volume production, with a designed capacity of half a billion tonnes a day, the group also said.
It will make further announcements when it receives definite information on the plant contract, said Hyflux, which is already in a joint venture to build and operate a US$238 million desalination plant in Tlemcen, Algeria.
Construction of the Oran plant would take three years, starting from the date of the project achieving financial close.
According to Thompson Financial, Hyflux will execute the project via a joint venture, MTM Spa, which will be 51 per cent owned by Hyflux and 49 per cent owned by the Algerian Energy Company, which was created in 2001 by Algeria's state oil company Sonatrach and state electricity and gas company Sonelgaz.
Algeria aims to build 13 desalination plants by 2010, with total capacity of some 2.3 million cubic metres per day, to provide drinking water for urban centres.
Hyflux shares closed eight cents up yesterday at $3.11.
