Senegal's government confirmed Thursday its plans to annul a 700 million-euro contract with a Saudi firm to build a water desalination plant. This marks the first major internation...
Senegal's government confirmed Thursday its plans to annul a 700 million-euro contract with a Saudi firm to build a water desalination plant. This marks the first major international deal to be scrapped since President Bassirou Diomaye Faye's election in March. Faye had vowed to review and potentially cancel deals signed by his predecessor, Macky Sall, whom he accused of compromising the country's sovereignty by selling state assets too cheaply.
The desalination project, heralded as one of the largest private investments in Senegal, was signed by Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power and Senegal's state water company, SONES, during the final days of Sall's presidency. The plant near Dakar was intended to provide approximately 400,000 cubic meters of water daily for the rapidly growing capital and other regions.
"This project no longer fits with the government's strategy options. We have decided not to pursue it," stated Cheikh Tidiane Dieye, the country's water minister, in a statement to AFP. Dieye had previously announced on television late Wednesday that Senegal would need to pay Acwa 20 to 40 billion CFA francs ($33 million) annually for the water from the plant, which has not yet begun construction.
Dieye raised concerns that "the price of the water risks increasing because of the technology being used and the required environmental studies were not carried out." He further noted that "in three or four years we will need more than 400,000 cubic meters per day because the population of Dakar is growing."
While the government's lawyers are examining the potential legal consequences of terminating the contract, Dieye mentioned that "construction of the plant has not yet started, so there cannot be any financial damages" for Acwa.
President Faye, a pan-Africanist who ascended to power with promises of reclaiming Senegal's "sovereignty," has indicated that foreign deals in key sectors such as mining, oil, and gas signed under Sall's administration would also undergo review.