Senegal terminates major water supply contract with Saudi group

The Senegalese government announced its decision to terminate a €700 million contract with a Saudi group for water supply and the construction of a desalination plant.

The contract, which was signed three months ago under the previous administration, is the first of such significance to be publicly denounced by the new authorities.

Since Bassirou Diomaye Faye’s victory in the March presidential elections against the incumbent candidate, the new administration has been committed to reviewing existing agreements in sectors such as mining, oil, and gas. The goal is to ensure that these contracts serve national interests and comply with legal standards.

The public-private partnership contract between Senegal's National Water Company (Sones) and the Saudi group Acwa Power was signed in late March, during the final days of Macky Sall’s presidency. Sall, often accused by Faye’s camp of compromising Senegalese interests abroad, had touted the contract as one of the largest private investments in the country.

Acwa Power had pledged to invest 459 billion CFA francs (over €700.7 million) in the construction and operation of Senegal’s second seawater desalination plant. The Senegalese state would have purchased the water produced by the plant.