The Henties Bay desalinated water bottling plant was inaugurated in the presence of Sam Nujoma, the very first president of the Republic of Namibia. The facility is located within the Sam Nujoma Campus of the University of Namibia (Unam). The construction of this bottling unit required an investment of N$875,000 (over US$53,800).
The project is funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering of the United Kingdom (US$32,300) and Unam (US$21,500). The plant processes drinking water produced by a desalination plant built by the Finnish company Solar Water Solutions, in a partnership between Unam and the University of Turku in Finland.
The desalination system, installed in a container, is powered entirely by photovoltaic solar energy. The small plant is capable of supplying 3.5 m3 of drinking water per hour. “The life cycle costs of this solar-powered desalination solution are more than 70% lower than conventional systems because there are no energy costs and no need for fossil fuels,” said Antti Pohjola, president and CEO of Solar Water Solutions when the plant was commissioned in May 2019.
The seawater desalination system in Henties Bay also enables the irrigation of a small olive grove. Comprising 400 olive trees, the plantation was inaugurated following the commissioning of the Henties Bay desalinated water bottling plant.
Jean Marie Takouleu