Magtaa, which is situated in Oran, Algeria, will be the world's largest desalination plant when completed in 2011, providing five million people with up to 500,000 cubic metres of drinking water per day. The electrical package supplied by ABB will reduce the amount of time wasted on plant maintenance and shutdowns, thereby reducing the overall cost of the drinking water.

The electrical package supplied by ABB consists of a complete electrical solution for the entire desalination plant, ensuring that the Magtaa desalination plant receives a reliable source of electricity without impacting grid stability. Countries such as Algeria - with 95% arid land and 80% desert - receive little rainfall. The Mediterranean sea and cost effective desalination can offer an abundant sourse of potable water, but the stresses to the existing infrastructure can reduce the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of this solution. the electrical package installed by ABB will include 33 medium voltage drives that will reduce electrcial losses from 5% to 3%.

The Magtaa desalination plant is being built, owned and run by Hyflux.