The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is considering providing up to $140 million in financing for a project to build a Caspian Sea water desalination plant in Azerbaijan.

The proposed financing would be split into two credit facilities of $70 million each. The total cost of the project is estimated at $407 million, according to Report.

The project involves the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of a desalination plant using reverse osmosis technology. The facility is expected to produce 300,000 cubic meters of water per day, with capacity expandable to 330,000 cubic meters during periods of peak demand.

The initiative will be implemented under a 25-year public-private partnership (PPP) agreement. All desalinated water will be supplied exclusively to the state-owned United Water Supply Service of Large Cities.

The facility will be Azerbaijan’s first large-scale desalination plant and the country’s first public-private partnership project in the water sector. Its primary goal is to improve the quality and reliability of drinking water supplies to residential and commercial consumers in Baku and the Absheron Peninsula.

The project aligns with the ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy for Azerbaijan for 2025-2029, which prioritizes the development of environmentally sustainable and clean infrastructure.

Separately, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has already approved a $45 million loan for the construction of a desalination plant in Azerbaijan.

Spanish engineering firm Savener has been appointed as a subcontractor to HDEC, part of the PowerChina group, to carry out engineering and design work for the project. HDEC is serving as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor, while Saudi Arabia’s ACWA is the project developer.

Savener has already fully commenced work on the project.