Acciona seals a 50 million euros deal to build Gabon’s largest drinking water plant

The Ntoum plant project is ACCIONA Agua’s first incursion in the African country

ACCIONA, a global provider of renewable energy, infrastructure and water services, has been awarded a €50m contract to design and build Gabon’s largest drinking water treatment plant (DWTP).

The project, awarded by Gabon’s Ministry of Oil, Energy and Hydraulic Resources (MPERH), will be built by ACCIONA’s water and infrastructure divisions near the city of Ntoum - which already has a water treatment complex. The new drinking water treatment plant will increase the storage capacity and availability of fresh water for Gabon’s capital Libreville and its hinterland.

The DWTP will have a daily production capacity of 140,000 cubic meters of drinking water, using four treatment lines (35,000m3 each). This amount will be enough to satisfy the zone’s estimated water needs for the next fifteen years. Construction is expected to last 20 months. The new plant will raise total capacity at the Ntoum water complex to 315,000m3/day.

The construction of the Ntoum plant forms part of the West African nation’s strategic plan to pursue the sustainable diversification of its economy, in order to reduce its reliance on oil, which accounts for 81% of the country’s exports. Access to clean water and sanitation are key development priorities of the government’s “Emerging Gabon” plan.

The Ntoum DWTP is ACCIONA Agua’s first contract in Gabon. ACCIONA’s infrastructure division, however, has been present in the country since 1977, and has a permanent office in Libreville.

ACCIONA Infrastructure is currently building two mini-hydro plants in Ibundji and Malinga. For the Ibundji facility, ACCIONA built the first composites bridge on the African continent. The Company also built the Mamiengue-Fougamou and Les Sabliers highways; the latter provides access to Libreville’s soccer stadium, built for the 2012 African Nations Cup soccer tournament.

In addition, ACCIONA Engineering carried out the Viability Study of the Hydro Potential of the province of Nyanga, commissioned by Gabon’s Ministry of Energy and Hydraulic Resources; and the supervision of the construction works on the Road and Rail Bridge over Banio Laguna, for the Gabonese Ministry of Infrastructure.