UAE-based power and water company AMEA Power announced on Wednesday that its joint venture (JV) with Spanish utility company Cox will develop and operate seawater desalination plant with a capacity of 100,000 cubic metres per day (m³/day) in Angola.

The $200 million desalination project, located on the Mussulo Peninsula in Luanda, will be executed by Water Alliance Ventures, a strategic JV between AMEA Power and Cox, the Dubai-based AMEA Power said in a press statement.

The plant will be constructed in two phases of 50,000 m³/day each and is expected to supply potable drinking water to approximately 800,000 residents of Mussulo Peninsula and the neighbouring Futungo district, the statement said.

It said construction of the first phase is expected to begin following the completion of technical and environmental studies, with commissioning scheduled for the second quarter of 2028.

Water Alliance Ventures  has signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Energy and Water of Angola (MINEA) for the project’s development.

The project is also supported by the UAE government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). On Monday, the UAE and Angola has signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).  

AMEA Power had signed an initial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MINEA in 2022 to undertake a conceptual study. This was followed a development agreement signed in November 2023, which provided the framework for a detailed Feasibility Study, completed in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Water Alliance Ventures was established in May 2025. AMEA Power also holds a 3.76 percent stake in Cox, acquired during Cox’s IPO in November 2024. 

(Writing by Deva Palanisamy; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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