Caspian Sea Desalination: Azerbaijan's Steps Towards Drinkable Water

2026-01-13 03:20:29

(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 13. One of the issues discussed at a meeting dedicated to the State Program for the improvement of water supply, wastewater, and stormwater systems in Baku and the Absheron Peninsula for 2026–2035, held on January 12, is related to desalinizing the water of the Caspian Sea and making it usable.

How and in what sequence will this issue, reflected in the above program, approved by the decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, be addressed?

The Azerbaijani State Water Resources Agency (ADSEA) said in response to Trend 's inquiry that in line with President Ilham Aliyev's decree aimed at ensuring the country's water security, increasing access to drinking water for the population, and introducing new technologies in this field, work continues on the "Pilot project for producing drinking water through desalination of seawater", which is in its first phase.

The agency noted that a contract for the pilot project of seawater desalination for producing drinking water was signed between the agency and Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power company on September 22, 2025, during the First Azerbaijan International Investment Forum.

"The project will be implemented in Sumgayit city, covering an area of approximately 30 hectares and a coastal strip. The desalination plant's daily production capacity will be 300,000 cubic meters, which translates to about 100 million cubic meters of water annually. This will provide a 20% increase in the current water demand of the Absheron Peninsula. Saltwater will be purified and converted into drinking water," the agency explained.

The agency added that from 2026 through 2028, the construction of a main pipeline from the Sumgayit desalination plant to the Jeyranbatan reservoir is planned.

Sadig Gurbanov, the chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliament's Committee on Natural Resources, Energy, and Ecology, told Trend that only 30% of the country's water resources originate within its borders, while the remaining 70% is sourced from transboundary rivers, creating a range of challenges.

"This is because every country needs additional water resources for development, in line with the requirements of the new era. If there had been no processes like the construction of the Takhtakorpu reservoir or the Oghuz-Gabala-Baku water pipeline, Baku could be facing very serious problems today," he clarified.

The committee chairman also noted that the purification and desalination of Caspian Sea water will be carried out in parallel.

"Desalination of seawater is a widely applied practice worldwide. Technologies have been implemented in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, and Italy. The issue raised by President Ilham Aliyev in the meeting is to prevent Azerbaijan from facing ecological problems in the future," Gurbanov said.

In turn, Hydrologist Rovshan Abbasov told Trend that desalination of seawater has been applied for a long time in international practice. Countries such as the U.S., Kuwait, Qatar, Israel, and Saudi Arabia rely on desalination of seawater for water supply.

"The Caspian Sea water is three times less salty compared to other seas. This means that desalinating Caspian water will cost three times less. Therefore, the desalination of Caspian Sea water will be more economically efficient," he pointed out.

Abbasov added that approximately 50% of wastewater is discharged untreated into the Caspian Sea from Baku. To prevent this pollution, wastewater in Baku should be treated before being discharged into the Caspian Sea and other lakes in the Absheron peninsula. Additionally, rainwater will be separated from the sewage system, which will help reduce the cost of water treatment. The construction of the plant for desalination of Caspian Sea water has already started, and it will be located in the Sumgayit direction," he concluded.

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