On January 15, 2026, China Electric Power Construction Group successfully signed a super contract worth approximately 17.2 billion yuan, turning the dream of a clean water source of 1 million cubic meters per day in Basra Province, Iraq into a reality. This is not only an overseas engineering contract, but also an important symbol of China's overall strength in seawater desalination technology gaining international recognition, demonstrating the strong competitiveness of the "Chinese solution" and "Chinese construction" in the face of global water scarcity challenges.

The contract value is nearly 17.2 billion yuan

According to the announcement released by China Electric Power Construction Corporation, its subsidiary China Electric Power Construction Group International Engineering Co., Ltd. has officially signed a contract for the Basra seawater desalination project with the government of Basra Province in Iraq, with a contract amount of approximately 17.193 billion yuan. The project is located in the Fa'ao area of Basra Province, with the core content of designing and constructing a seawater desalination plant with a daily water output of 1 million cubic meters, a supporting water transmission system with a daily water output of 1 million cubic meters (including about 240 kilometers of pipelines and multiple pump stations), and a 300 MW self owned power station, forming a complete energy supply water production water transmission system. The overall project duration includes a 6-month limited construction period and a 1350 day main construction period.

Global leader in autonomous capability

Behind this huge contract is the solid foundation for China's seawater desalination industry to move from technological catch-up to leading development. According to the "2024 National Seawater Utilization Report" released by the Ministry of Natural Resources, as of the end of 2024, the total scale of seawater desalination projects in China has reached 2.856 million tons per day, including 61 projects of over 10000 tons. More importantly, core technology equipment represented by reverse osmosis membranes, high-pressure pumps, and energy recovery devices have been produced nationwide, with a stable desalination rate of over 99.8% for domestically produced reverse osmosis membranes. With the demonstration project of reverse osmosis seawater desalination with a single machine capacity of 30000 tons/day in Tianjin Nangang Industrial Zone as a symbol, China has the ability to independently construct the entire chain of large-scale seawater desalination projects, and the EPC general contracting capacity of domestic enterprises has reached 5.5 million tons/day, ranking among the top in the world. Keywords: news and information reported by central enterprises, latest information reported by central enterprises

Highlight the value of livelihood projects

The Basra project is another milestone for Chinese seawater desalination companies to go global. Previously, Chinese companies have undertaken over 80 projects in more than 20 countries overseas, with a total scale exceeding 4.54 million cubic meters per day. In the core market of the Middle East, China Power Construction Corporation is deeply involved in Saudi Arabia's "2030 Vision". The Rabigh 3 project it undertook is the world's largest single unit reverse osmosis seawater desalination project, while the Jubail 3A project achieved green coupling between photovoltaics and seawater desalination. This million ton order in Iraq not only consolidates China's leading position in the global seawater desalination market, but also highlights its significant value and responsibility in addressing regional water scarcity and improving people's livelihoods. It will win a higher international reputation for China's infrastructure technology brand. (This article is from the official website of Jian Dao www.seetao.com. Reproduction without permission is prohibited, otherwise it will be prosecuted. Please indicate Jian Dao website+original link when reprinting.) Jian Dao website's state-owned enterprise reporting column editor/Gao Xue