South Korean construction giant Hyundai Engineering & Construction clinched a 4 trillion won ($3 billion) contract to build a massive seawater processing facility in Iraq, as the war-torn nation seeks to reduce pressure on its dwindling freshwater supplies.
The project, signed Sunday at the Iraqi Prime Minister’s office in Baghdad, will construct a plant capable of treating 5 million barrels of seawater daily near Khor Al-Zubair Port in southern Iraq. The facility is expected to take 49 months to complete.
The water treatment plant forms part of TotalEnergies’ broader $10 billion Gas Growth Integrated Project, which combines gas collection, solar power and water infrastructure. TotalEnergies leads the consortium with a 45% stake, while Iraq’s Basra Oil Company holds 30% and QatarEnergy owns 25%.
Processed water will be piped to major southern oilfields including Zubair, Rumaila, Majnoon and West Qurna to maintain reservoir pressure, replacing freshwater currently drawn from rivers and groundwater. The shift is projected to free up 250,000 cubic meters of freshwater daily for agricultural use.
For Hyundai E&C, the contract represents its second-largest project in Iraq after completing a $6 billion oil refinery in Karbala in 2023. The Korean builder has executed about 40 construction projects worth approximately $9 billion in Iraq since first entering the market in 1978.
The deal comes as Iraq struggles with severe water shortages while trying to boost oil production and reduce energy dependence on neighboring Iran.
