Ghana: World Bank Insures Ghana Seawater Desalination Plant

The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the political risk insurance arm of the World Bank Group has announced that it is supporting an investment that will supply 60,000 cubic meters of potable water per day to residents and businesses in the TeshieNungua area of Accra.

The plant will be built on a 25-year build-own-operate-transfer basis and is expected to benefit approximately 500,000 people in one of the city’s poorest areas.

Increased water supply is urgently needed in the project area and many residents lack access to safe drinking water, Izumi Kobayashi, MIGAs Executive Vice President said.

In his own words: “Were very pleased to be supporting this investment that will supply water to Accras residents and provide technical know-how in seawater treatment to build capacity in the country”.

MIGAs investment guarantees of $179.2 million are covering an equity investment and shareholder loan by Abengoa Group; an equity investment and shareholder loan by Daye Water Investment (Ghana), BV of the Netherlands; and a non-shareholder loan and interest-rate swap by Standard Bank of South Africa Ltd.

The coverage is against the risks of transfer restriction, expropriation, breach of contract, and war and civil disturbance.

The project is expected to help bring Ghana a step closer toward its Millennium Development Goal target for water. The country is only one of four in sub-Saharan Africa on track to meet the goal, but significant investment is required over the next 10 years to help Ghana meet the rising demand for water, according to the World Bank.