Saudi Arabia's utility developer ACWA Power has signed deals to set up a water desalination facility and a natural gas power plant in Senegal.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreements, signed with both the National Water Company of Senegal (SONES) and the National Electric Company of Senegal (SENELEC), are for the development of a seawater reverse osmosis plant in Grande Cote and a combined cycle gas turbine plant in Cap des Biches.

The 300,000-cubic-metre (m3) water desalination project will be the largest of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa, while the power plant, which will have an initial capacity of 160 megawatts, aims to increase the country's energy independence and cut electricity costs.

Under the agreements, ACWA Power will oversee the development of the water facility and "work closely with SENELEC" to establish the power plant, which is expected to support Senegal's efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 23% by 2030.

ACWA Power's portfolio of water desalination plants includes facilities that collectively produce 6.4 million m3 of water daily, while its power generation portfolio has a combined capacity of 42.7 gigawatts.