The Erongo Desalination Plant, operated by Orano Mining Company, is scheduled for upgrades to enhance its capacity and sustainability.
Orano Mining Executive Chairperson, Hilifa Mbako, said the upgrades, involving an undisclosed investment, will include the addition of a vertical ultrafiltration filtration unit, bringing the total to 12 units.
Mbako said the facility has secured financial approval for the installation of another Reverse Osmosis unit, scheduled to be installed next year.
The upgrades are poised to bolster the plant’s annual capacity from the current 20 million cubic metres to an immediate 25 million cubic metres.
“The plant does not need renovation as we use the very latest in desalination technology and we have continuously upgraded for the last 13 years of production. Should water demand require even more, the capacity can be upgraded to achieve up to 45 million m3 per annum,” he said.
The plant upgrades coincide with the plant having produced 100 million m³ of pure water since its inception in June 2010.
“For the first three years we only produced water for Trekkopje mine, but since August 2013, we started to deliver to NamWater to supplement the needs of the growing mining industry in the area,” he said.
He further explained that supply is determined by demand, the current demand from the Erongo Region customers (via NamWater) is for approximately 13.5 million m³ per annum.
He stated that the plant can produce more than it currently does, but this is reduced by the current demand. He said water delivery will be adjusted as demand increases.
“We thus remain confident that we can continue to contribute to the development of our Region with water provision for many more decades,” Mbako said
Quizzed if the desalination plant was for sale, he said: “We do not have plans to disinvest from the plant as we are committed to the principle of continuous improvement and innovation for the Erongo Desalination Plant. In this noble role as an enabler in regional and national development, we welcome progressively collaborative partnerships with State and private institutions in improvement.”
He said the company had recently agreed to source additional solar power for the Erongo Desalination Plant under a ten-year power purchase agreement with InnoSun Energy Holdings, of which construction has commenced and is expected to be operational toward the end of 2024.
Desalination is the process by which the dissolved mineral salts in water are removed.
