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 18 Feb. 2026 



 

 

 

Since October 2024, and for a period of 5 years, **we have been supporting the National Office for Water and Sanitation of Djibouti (ONEAD) as an Operating Assistant (AEX) to improve its operational, financial, and environmental performance**, in line with the objectives of its Strategic Plan for 2040.

## A strategic asset at the heart of Djibouti's water security

The Doraleh desalination plant (22,500 m3/day) ensures access to quality water for the inhabitants of Djibouti City and Balbala. Operated by a third party since its commissioning in 2021, it is about to make a decisive leap: by this summer, ONEAD will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the plant, whose capacity will be doubled to reach 45,000 m3/day by 2028-2029.

## A week of immersion in the Sultanate of Oman to prepare for this transition

To support the ONEAD teams ahead of the transition to direct management of the O&M at Doraleh, **we organized an operational immersion within the desalination plants operated by Veolia in Sur (130,000 m3/day) and Barka (280,000 m3/day).**

Accompanied by Frédéric Lacaze-Eslous (AEX desalination expert), Ali Walib Mohamed (O&M manager), and Abdourahim Mouhoumed (electromechanical maintenance manager), they were able to exchange with operational staff on key topics:

- Organization and management of O&M teams
- Monitoring the operation and performance of treatment stages
- Management of corrective and preventive maintenance, stock monitoring, and CMMS
- Instrumentation, automation, supervision, and reporting
- Continuous improvement and optimization of operating costs (especially energy)

## A springboard towards operational excellence

This visit **allowed ONEAD staff to access Veolia's know-how and expertise in the field of desalination**. The practices observed will inspire many concrete actions to be implemented in Doraleh, with a clear ambition: **to make this plant the showcase for ONEAD’s operational excellence and the guarantor of water security in Djibouti**.

Many thanks to the Veolia teams in the Sultanate of Oman for the quality of their welcome and the richness of their exchanges with the Djiboutian delegation. Beyond technical sharing, a true spirit of cooperation was established between operational staff facing the same challenges: ensuring access to essential services in a region confronted with dwindling resources.