The construction of Corso seawater desalination plant in Corso, a town in the wilaya of Boumerdès, has been launched in a ceremony led by two Sonatrach subsidiaries, AEC and GCB, and Cosider Canalisation, a public company and the most important subsidiary of the Cosider Spa Group by virtue of its activity.
Located in northern Algeria, in the Kabylia region, between Algiers and Tizi-Ouzou, Boumerdès is reportedly one of 22 wilayas that are most affected by water stress in the North African country.
An overview of the Corso seawater desalination plant
The companies responsible for the project i.e. Algerian Energy Company spa (AEC), GCB, and Cosider Canalisation, plan to partially commission the Corso seawater desalination plant in six months. The plant will initially have a capacity of 40 000 m3 of drinking water per day, which is reportedly expected to be doubled to 80,000 m3.
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In addition to the desalination plant in question, Algeria is also constructing two other seawater desalination plants, the Bateau cassé plant in Bordj El Kiffan and the El Marsa plant in Algiers.
The Bateau cassé plant with a planned capacity of 10,000 m3 of water per day will be completed in five months while the El Marsa plant with a planned capacity of 60,000 m3 of water per day will also be commissioned five months after its launch, but in a partial manner before reaching its maximum production level in nine months.
Algerian government’s strategy for drinking water supply
These various desalination plant works are in line with the Algerian government’s strategy for drinking water supply. The government is also preparing a new emergency plan to increase the country’s installed desalination capacity.
According to Mohamed Arkab, the Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines, the new plan includes, in the first phase, the construction of a desalination plant at Cap Djenat with a capacity of 400,000 m3 per day, another one with a capacity of 250,000 m3 per day to the west of Algiers, and the third one of 250,000 m3 per day in the wilaya of El Tar.
