Recently, a seawater desalination plant with a daily output of 1 million cubic meters is moving from the contract to the construction site in the Fa'ao area of Basra Province, Iraq. In December 2025, China Power Construction International Engineering Co., Ltd. signed a contract with the Basra Provincial Government of Iraq for the Basra seawater desalination project, with a contract amount of approximately 2.554 billion US dollars. The project covers seawater desalination plants, water transmission systems, and supporting self owned power stations. After completion, it will alleviate the water supply shortage in the Basra area and drive the upgrading of regional water infrastructure.

Million ton desalination plant landing

The core construction content of the project includes a seawater desalination plant with a daily output of 1 million cubic meters, a water supply system with a daily output of 1 million cubic meters, and a supporting self owned power station with a total installed capacity of 300MW. The interconnection of multiple professional fields such as seawater desalination, water supply pipelines, and supporting power facilities places high demands on engineering coordination, interface management, and system integration. The project plan sets a limited start period of 6 months, with a main construction period of 1350 days and a defect liability period of 24 months.

240 kilometer water transmission system

The water supply system is an important component of the project, including approximately 240 kilometers of water pipelines, one main pump station, and nine receiving pump stations. It involves long-distance pipeline construction, multi pump station coordination, and system integration. In July 2026, China Water Resources and Hydropower Fifth Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd. signed a subcontract contract for the water transmission system with Iraqi Ruida Company, with a contract amount of approximately RMB 8.925 billion. The coordinated operation and system integration of pumping stations are key to ensuring the stability of water supply for long-distance water pipelines crossing different geological and climatic conditions. Keywords: Infrastructure News Network, International, Seawater Desalination

Synchronous construction of supporting power stations

The project also includes the construction of a self owned power station with a total installed capacity of 300MW to provide power support for seawater desalination and water transmission systems. The self owned power station, desalination plant, and pump station form a source grid load coordination to ensure stable operation under local power grid conditions in Iraq. China Power Construction Corporation continues to make progress in the field of water engineering in Iraq. The contract amount for the Basra seawater desalination project is about 2.554 billion US dollars, which is another large-scale EPC project undertaken by China Power Construction Corporation in the Middle East water market. The project construction will drive the demand for engineering services in multiple professional fields such as seawater desalination, water transmission network, and supporting power facilities.Editor/Gao Xue