Sorek consortium raises $400 million for desal plant in Israel

Sorek Desalination Ltd., a company formed by IDE Technologies Ltd. (Kadima, Israel) and Hutchison Water International (Hong Kong, China), has reached an agreement with several banks to provide the $400 million in financing for the Sorek seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant in Israel. The financing is being provided by the European Investment Bank and Israel’s Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi. The plant, which will be constructed on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis, has a total planned capacity of 150 million cubic meters per year, which will make it the largest plant of its kind in the world when it comes on line, according to Sorek. The plant will use 16-inch membranes, which the developers believe will reduce the cost of water to about $0.55 per cubic meter. Construction of the facility began several months ago and is scheduled to be completed in 2013.