Aquapor, a subsidiary of the Saur Group, and GS Inima have signed a contract for the design, construction, and operation of the first desalination plant in mainland Portugal.
- A GS Inima led-consortim, formed by Aquapor and Luságua has signed a €107 million agreement with Águas do Algarve.
- The signing ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, the Minister for the Environment, Maria Graça Carvalho, and the Deputy Minister for Territorial Cohesion, Manuel Castro Almeida, among many other personalities.
- Commissioning of the new plant will help to create an alternative capable of guaranteeing the resilience of public water supply to the Algarve’s population.
A contract was signed today between Águas do Algarve and the consortium made up of GS Inima, Aquapor and Luságua for the design, construction and operation of the Algarve desalination plant in the district of Faro, in Albufeira. This project, of great strategic importance, will guarantee the supply of drinking water for thousands of inhabitants and will allow crucial economic activities to continue, fostering the sustainable development of the area.
The project, scheduled for completion by the end of 2026, will use innovative technologies with the aim of reducing the infrastructure's energy consumption, making it more environmentally sustainable. In this sense, the use of renewable energy sources will be favored, through the installation of a self-consumption plant equipped with photovoltaic panels that will occupy around 4.5 hectares. With these measures, the consortium aims to reduce operating costs while minimizing environmental impacts, in line with global goals to combat climate change.
With a production capacity of 16 million m3 of drinking water in the first phase, the infrastructure is being designed to reach 24 million m3 per year. This project, which uses a reverse osmosis system, the most sustainable, advanced and widely desalination technique, will guarantee the supply of drinking water to thousands of inhabitants and its positive impact will be felt in agricultural activities, industry and tourism - key sectors for the local economy that depend directly on a stable water supply.
“With more than six decades of proven international experience in the field of desalination, we are very proud to be involved in this project and fully committed to providing sustainable and efficient water solutions that guarantee a safe and reliable supply of drinking water to almost one hundred thousand people,” highlighted Marta Verde, CEO of GS Inima.
“This project will be an example of how technological innovation and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand, promoting sustainable growth and guaranteeing essential resources for future generations,” says António Cunha, CEO of the Aquapor Group.
The commitment to implementing these innovative and environmentally sustainable technological solutions reflects the consortium's commitment to ecological transition and water efficiency.