Senegal launched the construction of the seawater desalination plant on 31 May. The objective of this project is to contribute to the improvement of the city’s water supply network, to diversify local water sources and to strengthen the water supply capacity, then contributing to the improvement of the living environment in the region.
The Senegalese president, Macky Sall, launched yesterday, Tuesday, the construction of the water desalination plant. The work, estimated at CFAF 137 billion, is financed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and implemented by SONES, the national water company of Senegal. It is located in the district of Ouakam, in front of the monument of the African Renaissance, on the southern slope of one of the two volcanic hills of Mamelles.
According to the Head of State, this new plant marks a new stage in the implementation of the Emerging Senegal Plan and will contribute to the improvement of drinking water supply in Dakar. “This complex and unprecedented project marks a major step in the realisation of the Emerging Senegal Plan (PSE),” a vast programme aimed at putting this poor country on the road to emergence by 2035, said President Macky Sall.
With an initial production capacity of 50,000 m3 per day, which can be extended to 100,000 m³/day, the plant should make it possible to put an end to the constant shortage and to ensure the supply of water.
The project was controversial. Residents, beachgoers and fishermen denounce the potential consequences for the environment, as the salt sucked up will then be thrown back into the sea. Macky Sall reassures. “The State has taken all the necessary measures to ensure optimal control of the environmental and social impacts of this project, in the spirit of the sustainable development objectives, in particular objective number 6 which concerns drinking water and sanitation. The plant is scheduled to be operational in 2025.
