LG Chem wins water treatment contract in Egypt

By Lee Min-hyung

LG Chem has won an exclusive license to supply water treatment filters to a seawater desalination plant in Egypt, the company said Sunday.

Under the contract with Dubai-based water management company Metito, LG Chem will provide reverse osmosis (RO) membranes for the plant, which once established, will be able to produce 300,000 tons of desalinated water for one million people, the Seoul-based chemical giant said.

RO filters are widely used for various purposes including seawater desalination and wastewater reuse.

LG Chem did not say what the deal is worth.

The deal is part of the company’s aggressive revenue diversification strategy into water and bio technology. Last year, LG Chem won a contract to supply more than 20,000 RO filters to a seawater desalination plant in Oman.

Last year the company invested about 40 billion won ($35.55 million) to expand its RO filter manufacturing facilities in Cheonju, North Chungcheong Province. The company says its RO filters lead the way with a 99.85 percent desalination rate.

LG Chem aims to become the world’s largest provider of desalination solutions next year by signing additional contracts in the Middle East and Africa.

The global RO filter market will be worth 2 trillion won in 2020 with an annual growth rate of 4.8 percent from last year’s 1.5 trillion won, according to the company.

LG Chem also plans to move into new markets soon — including China and India.