Algeria’s minister of water resources, Hocine Necib, announced on 6 October 2013 that a seawater desalination plant would be constructed “soon” in the town of El Marsa, according to the state‑run Algeria Press Service.
The proposed plant would supply the population of El Marsa municipality, which is a popular tourist destination, and the project would include renovation of the dilapidated drinking water network of the city of Skikda and nearby towns.
Emphasising efforts by the Department of Water Resources to make the country safe from drought, the minister said it was “unacceptable” that the people of Skikda still lacked water when the region had four dams and a 100,000 m³/d seawater desalination plant located in the industrial area.