Stimulate more investment in desalination in Africa. This is the main challenge of the international investment conference and exhibition, “Desalination Africa”, which takes place from 22 to 23 November 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. This international meeting will see the participation of more than 200 players in the water sector, including desalination specialists.
Government representatives, development partners and companies, such as the French giant Suez, will be present in Cape Town. The aim is to improve water supply in Africa, in a context marked by water stress. More than 15 investment projects in the field of desalination will be presented at the Desalination Africa conference and exhibition. The process, essentially based on distillation or reverse osmosis, is still more expensive than the exploitation of fresh water resources.
A growing desalination market
This event is being held at a time of increasing water stress due to the droughts that are occurring in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, East Africa and especially in Southern Africa. Faced with this crisis, several countries are increasingly turning to non-conventional water resources, notably the reuse of treated wastewater and the desalination of sea water in coastal countries. The market for water desalination is growing.
According to a report published by Research and Markets in March 2021, the global desalination market was valued at $17.7 billion in 2020. It is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 9.51% from 2020 to 2027. According to the report, the global desalination market will therefore amount to US$32.1 billion by 2027.
Read also- AFRICA: desalination now at the heart of water supply strategies
It is against this background that the Desalination Africa conference is being held. This event will serve as a framework for the presentation of projects for the adoption of new technologies and the reconstruction of desalination plants. It will also discuss the environmental impact of seawater desalination plants, often criticised for their electricity consumption, and the adoption of renewable energy in projects under management in Africa.
For more information on the conference-expo, click here.
Inès Magoum and Jean Marie Takouleu