Modern Water secures major new Middle East, Africa deal

Modern Water's technology was set for new, widespread deployment across much of the water industry in the Middle East and Africa on Thursday, with the signing of a new agreement with Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock Middle East.

The AIM-traded water and waste-water treatment technology firm said the agreement was for the construction, maintenance, rehabilitation, operation and maintenance and life cycle services in a range of industries.

Modern Water said the agreement covered the joint development and commercialisation of its proprietary Forward Osmosis technology, in conjunction with "multi stage flash" (MSF) desalination plants across the Middle East and North Africa.

According to the company, the product offering would allow owners of MSF desalination plants to improve their performance and energy efficiency at existing plants and any new plants under development.

"Our new strategy is to focus on industrial applications of our cutting-edge proprietary water technologies, and this agreement with Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock Middle East is a significant endorsement of this new focus", said Modern Water CEO Simon Humphrey.

Humphrey described Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock Middle East as a major player in the desalination market, having built, maintained and upgraded a number of existing MSF plants in the region.

Modern Water said it was now working with Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock Middle East to develop a product offering for deployment.

"The installed fleet of MSF desalination plants is considerable, and energy saving is becoming more and more a priority to our customers", said Bilfinger Deutsche Babcock Middle East CEO Hakan Yapici.

"We are proud to offer them cutting-edge technology that delivers these advantages", Yapici concluded.

At 1345 GMT, shares in Modern Water were trading 8.14% higher, at 7.84p.