Doraleh Desalination Plant

The Djibouti Desalination Plant in Doraleh is a strategic seawater reverse-osmosis desalination project developed under the national PEPER program to strengthen potable water security, improve supply reliability, and reduce climate-related vulnerability in Djibouti City.¹

The project envisions “establishing a reliable, climate-resilient, and scalable drinking-water for Djibouti City by diversifying sources beyond conventional resources and integrating desalination with transmission, storage, and cleaner energy systems.^{2 3} The project seeks to secure year-round potable water supply through seawater desalination while reducing exposure to groundwater stress, rainfall variability, and quality constraints. It adopts a phased infrastructure approach, enabling incremental capacity expansion and long-term resilience, with city-wide impact on domestic water service reliability.^{4 5}

To implement the vision, the project combines new desalination production with the supporting infrastructure needed to deliver potable water into the city network:^{6 7 8}

• Seawater desalination: operational capacity of 22,500 cubic meters per day (phase 1) and 45,000 cubic meters per day (planned expansion).
• Water infrastructure: regulating reservoir of 5,000 cubic meters and approximately 8.5 kilometers transmission pipeline (about 700 mm in diameter) linking plant to the urban network.
• Coastal and marine construction works: site preparation and protection structures referenced in the contractor scope.
• Energy integration: project documentation references linkage to nearby wind energy and a planned 12 Megawatts photovoltaic system for the expansion phase.

The project strengthens water sustainability by advancing climate resilience, supply diversification, and system robustness and introducing desalination as a controlled, drought-independent water source. Its modular design enables future expansion without reconstructing core assets, while planned renewable-energy integration aims to reduce the carbon intensity of desalinated water.^{9 10}

The project was implemented as a national public infrastructure investment under the PEPER programme, combining European Union development financing, public ownership, and EPC delivery. Ownership and sectoral oversight are held by the Office National de l’Eau et de l’Assainissement de Djibouti (ONEAD), within the national water and sanitation framework. Delivery was executed through an EPC contract led by Grupo Cobra via its water subsidiary Tedagua, with Eiffage Génie Civil as a key construction partner, and included a five-year operation and maintenance period following completion.^{11 12 13} Financing was primarily provided by the European Union, with co-financing from the Government of Djibouti. Variations in published budget figures reflect differences in reporting scope, notably between the EPC contract value and the broader PEPER programme envelope.^{14 15}

The EPC contract was awarded and construction commenced in July 2017, followed by an approximately three-year construction period and a five-year operation and maintenance phase. The project was officially inaugurated on 22 March 2021 as a flagship PEPER initiative. According to European Investment Bank documentation, Phase 1 (22,500 cubic meters per day) was completed and operational by October 2022, with Phase 2 expansion to 45,000 cubic meters per day planned, including photovoltaic energy integration.^{16 17}