Back to the complete issue
Monday, 12 December 2022

Gulf sovereign funds are bidding for Egypt desalination plants

Gulf sovereign wealth funds are among 28 bidders vying for contracts to build the 21 desalination plants the government is tendering to the private sector, Atter Hannoura, director of the Finance Ministry’s PPP unit, told Enterprise. Subsidiaries of the wealth funds have submitted bids as part of consortiums with other local and foreign investors, with each consortium including at least one local firm, Hannoura said.

REFRESHER- Bidding closed last week on the 21 plants in the first USD 3 bn phase of the government’s USD 8 bn desalination program, with contracts set to be signed next year.

The first plants will be awarded early in 1Q 2023: Four plants will be awarded by mid-January or early February, Hannoura said. The plants are located on the Marsa Matrouh and Alamein coasts, he added.

Who exactly is bidding? Acwa Power, which is backed by Saudi sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF), has shown interest in the plants. While Hannoura could not disclose who the bidders were, Bloomberg Asharq yesterday quoted sources close to the matter as saying that PIF, Abu Dhabi’s ADQ, and the Qatari Investment Authority (QIA) are all in talks with the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) over a stake in the plants. Other interested firms not linked to Gulf funds include Hassan Allam Holding, Al Nowais, Schneider Electric, and a consortium made up of Metito Holdings, Scatec, and Orascom Construction.

The plants aren’t the only infrastructure being eyed by wealth funds in the Gulf: The three sovereign wealth funds have shown interest in some of our existing plants and ports. QIA is reportedly eyeing a USD 1 bn green hydrogen and ammonia plant and an investment in Damietta Port, as part of a USD 5 bn pledge to help shore up our economy. ADQ-owned Abu Dhabi Ports recently took a majority stake in a major local shipping and logistics firm, and will be developing and running a terminal at Safaga and Ain Sokhna ports. PIF is also reportedly eyeing three Siemens-built power plants as part of Riyadh’s USD 10 bn investment pledge.

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.