Senegal will terminate a 32-year water infrastructure agreement signed by former President Macky Sall with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, citing its high cost, according to the Minister of Water and Sanitation.
The $800 million contract for the construction and operation of a desalination plant in Dakar was finalised in March, just before the end of Sall’s presidency.
As the largest project of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa, the plant was designed to produce 400,000 cubic meters of water per day to mitigate shortages in Senegal.
The World Bank predicts that water withdrawals in the country could increase by up to 60% by 2035.
However, Minister Cheikh Tidiane Dieye stated on Thursday that the long-term cost made it “a short-termist and expensive solution.”
Speaking on a private TV network, he remarked, “The price of water will become more expensive in the long run due to the technology used to produce it.
“I indicated that the project is not going to proceed,” he added, while also criticizing Sall for finalizing the deal so near to his departure from office.
“A president who, just days away from the end of his term, commits to a 30-year agreement is unacceptable to any rational person,” Minister Cheikh Tidiane Dieye criticized.
ACWA did not respond immediately to a request for comment outside of business hours.
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