Abengoa's desalination project in Accra, Ghana, has obtained the Commencement of Operation Date (COD) certificate, which marks the begin of commercial operation for the desalination plant.

Construction works started in 2012 and lasted 24 months.

The Accra plant is the first of its kind in Ghana, and it has the capacity to desalinate 60,000 m³ of sea water per day. This will provide fresh water to over 300,000 people in different municipalities of the Greater Accra administrative region such as Teshie, Nungua and Tema. This plant will help alleviate the occasional water shortages in the area, and it will contribute to the growth of the local economy.

This project uses technology of membrane desalination, which is reverse osmosis to treat seawater. The plant also includes pre-treatment by ultrafiltration as well as energy recovery systems.

The project has been developed on a design, build, operation and transfer (DBOT) basis. The concession period is 25 years.

The total project investment is estimated at US$ 126 million. The project was financed by African financial entities, such as the South-African Standard Bank and Nedbank.

Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, it is furthermore the anchor of a larger metropolitan area, the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), which is inhabited by about 4 million people, making it the second largest metropolitan conglomeration in Ghana by population, and the eleventh-largest metropolitan area in Africa.

In late 2014 we reported that Ghana and Togo signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop the Sogakope - Lomé transboundary drinking water supply PPP project. The project, as defined in the 2005 study, includes a water catchment in the Volta River at Sogakope, Ghana, the construction of a treatment plant with an estimated capacity of 210,000m³ /day, the laying of approximately 86 km of pipelines to Segbe, Togo, booster stations along the pipeline in Ghana and a terminal reservoir at the Segbe delivery point near Lomé in Togo.