On 20 July, the Spanish Government held a meeting with representatives of leading Spanish companies operating in Algeria. The event, hosted at the Spanish Embassy in Algiers, brought together businesses from a range of sectors with an established presence in the country to discuss the opportunities emerging from this new phase in economic relations between Spain and Algeria.

During the meeting, Spain’s Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen, highlighted the strategic role that Spanish companies are expected to play in strengthening economic ties between the two countries. She emphasized their capacity to drive investment, create employment, and contribute to sustainable development.

Sacyr Agua was represented by Eduardo Campos, Managing Director of the company, who took part in this institutional gathering alongside executives from other Spanish companies active in Algeria.

Sacyr Agua currently operates in Algeria through the operation and maintenance of the Skikda and Honaine desalination plants, two strategic facilities that play a key role in ensuring the country’s drinking water supply. The Skikda plant has a production capacity of 100,000 m³ per day, while the Honaine desalination plant produces 200,000 m³ per day, making it one of the region’s benchmark facilities.

Through its presence in Algeria, Sacyr Agua contributes to strengthening the country’s water security by ensuring the efficient management of strategic desalination infrastructure. The company brings extensive international expertise in the operation and maintenance of large-scale desalination facilities and integrated water cycle services, supporting sustainable and reliable water supply solutions for local communities.

Sacyr Agua had a prominent presence at EDS Euromed 2026, organized by the European Desalination Society (EDS) and held from 22 to 25 June 2026 in Marrakech, Morocco. The congress brought together international experts to discuss the latest advances and challenges in desalination, water reuse, and the integration of renewable energy in the water sector.

During the event, Irene Ochoa delivered two technical presentations focused on successful initiatives implemented at the Perth Desalination Plant (Australia). The first presentation addressed the optimization of pretreatment processes by extending the service life of cartridge filters through chemical cleaning procedures. The second focused on the Transition Box project, highlighting its design, implementation, and contribution to improving plant operations.

Patricia Terrero also presented two technical papers related to innovation and sustainability in water management. The first showcased the results achieved in the removal of emerging contaminants and microplastics from wastewater using advanced treatment technologies developed as part of the SOS Agua XXI project. The second explored the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of non-conventional water resources in agriculture, emphasizing their strategic role in strengthening water resilience within the sector.

In addition to her technical contributions, Patricia Terrero played an active role in the congress as moderator of the “Advanced Wastewater Treatment” session and as a member of the jury for the Miriam Balaban Innovation Awards, helping recognize some of the most innovative initiatives presented during the event.

Sacyr Agua’s participation in EDS Euromed 2026 reinforces the company’s commitment to innovation, technical excellence, and knowledge sharing to advance toward more efficient and sustainable water management.

Canal de Isabel II has awarded the consortium formed by Sacyr Agua (60%) and Ocide Construcción (40%) the contract to provide conservation and maintenance services for the peripheral sewerage networks of Torrelaguna (Lot 8). The contract is valued at €11 million and has a duration of 48 months.

The contract includes the cleaning, inspection, operation, maintenance, and improvement of Canal de Isabel II’s sewerage networks in the Torrelaguna area, located in the northeast of the Madrid region. In addition to Torrelaguna, the service area includes municipalities such as Paracuellos de Jarama, Ajalvir, Cobeña, Algete, Fuente el Saz, and Daganzo de Arriba, serving a population of more than 100,000 residents.

The objective of the contract is to ensure the proper hydraulic performance of the system and extend the service life of infrastructure that is essential for both citizens’ well-being and environmental protection.

Under the contract, the consortium will be responsible for maintaining more than 660 kilometres of sewerage infrastructure, including sewers, collectors, outfall pipelines, storm drains, manholes, drainage systems, and discharge points. In addition, it will invest in machinery, suction and pumping equipment, as well as network inspection and monitoring systems.

This type of service plays a fundamental role in sustainable water management and in preventing problems caused by heavy rainfall events.

Students of the Specialist Course in Desalination and Water Reuse, held annually thanks to the collaboration between AEDyR and the IUACA at the University of Alicante, have completed their academic training with technical visits to the Torrevieja desalination plant—one of the most important facilities of its kind in Europe, operated by Sacyr Agua—and the Alicante plant, among others.

This activity allowed students to gain first-hand insight into the real operation of large-scale desalination infrastructure, reinforcing the theoretical knowledge acquired in the classroom and bringing them closer to the current challenges of sustainable water management.

The program also featured the participation of two experts from Sacyr Agua, Domingo Zarzo and Mercedes Calzada, as instructors. They contributed their professional experience in the sector, enriching the students’ training with a practical and up-to-date perspective on technologies, operation, and management of desalination and water reuse plants.

This type of initiative strengthens the applied nature of the postgraduate program and its direct connection with the business sector, helping to ensure that future professionals are better prepared to face the challenges of the integrated water cycle.

The event brought together representatives from institutions and the water sector, including MITERD, EPSAR, Canal de Isabel II, the General Directorate for Water of Asturias, the UN Global Compact, Forética, AEDyR, ALADYR, EDS and Daquas, among other organizations.

A platform for dialogue towards more regenerative water management

The third edition of the event was structured as a forum for dialogue and collaboration between public authorities, companies, and experts, with the aim of advancing towards a Water Positive model that goes beyond sustainability to promote a net positive impact on water resources.

The event combined different formats: keynote speeches and presentations focused on the strategic role of water in the sustainable transition; panel discussions addressing challenges and solutions from institutional, industrial, and technological perspectives; and case studies and business experiences aimed at sharing best practices.

During the morning, the focus was on institutional and strategic topics, while the second part of the event centered on innovation and action, highlighting concrete solutions and applied experiences.

In this context, Patricia Terrero, as a member of the Water Positive Think Tank, delivered opening remarks alongside a colleague, emphasizing the need for a shift in approach—from minimizing impacts to generating value, resilience, and a positive and lasting impact in the water sector.

Sacyr’s participation

In the industrial-focused session, several companies shared their strategies for improving water efficiency. Participants included Amazon Web Services, Suntory, Holcim, Heineken, González Byass, PepsiCo, AstraZeneca, Mahou, and Schneider Electric, alongside water sector specialists such as Sacyr, Acideka, H2O Innovation, Ecolab, Amiad, Captoplastic, and Energy Recovery.

Representing Sacyr, Encarna Mateos presented the company’s approach to water footprint management and its sustainability targets. In addition, Domingo Zarzo, founding member of the Water Positive Think Tank, delivered the closing remarks, bringing the event to a close and reinforcing the sector’s commitment to more efficient, collaborative, and regenerative water management.

The modernization of water management services has become one of our top priorities. As demonstrated in our project in Melilla, through a Narrow Band (NB) technology, designed for the communication of Internet of Things devices (IoT), we will be able to digitise the collection of data in the provision of water services in this autonomous city.

The NB-IoT technology will enable us to establish a remote reading and segmentation service that will provide daily consumption information and data on urban water cycles including, among others, reverse flow, or internal leakage alarms.

By implementing this advanced remote reading system, the Melilla’s water system will benefit from a number of advantages. The important amount of automated data available allows an efficient administration and quality of the hydraulic system. This optimized balance between the current resources and the consumers’ demand to reach a more effective use of water, ultimately will result in a more sustainable energy consumption system. Moreover, this advanced technology will ensure the connectivity of elements in complex locations.

With this project, Sacyr Agua promotes the modernization and digitalisation of water services, enhancing a comprehensive remote water meter reading system.