The Board of Directors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved $45 million in non-sovereign financing for the construction of Azerbaijan’s first large-scale seawater desalination facility.
Sea-news.az reports that the project encompasses the design, construction, and operation of a reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant capable of producing approximately 300,000 cubic meters of potable water daily from the Caspian Sea. Located on the coast within the industrial zone of Sumgayit, the project represents the country’s first commercial-scale RO desalination plant and its inaugural Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the water supply sector.
The 25-year PPP agreement was signed between project sponsor ACWA Power and the off-taker, the Azerbaijan State Water Resources Agency. The Ministry of Finance of Azerbaijan is providing a payment guarantee mechanism covering the operational period.
Environmental & Social Considerations:
- Risk Categorization: The project is classified as Category B for environmental and social risks.
- Offshore Infrastructure: Intake and outfall pipelines extending approximately 2 kilometers offshore will be installed for seawater abstraction and brine discharge.
- Ecological Protection: A high-dispersion outfall system engineered to rapidly dilute concentrate brine several hundred meters offshore will be utilized. Assessments indicate no significant or irreversible impacts on marine biodiversity, including the Caspian seal.
- Social Impact: The plant will be developed on existing industrial land requiring no land acquisition; minor livelihood impacts along the pipeline route will be addressed via formal compensation frameworks.
