In January 2017, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported that Hyflux would now develop the Ain Sokhna water and power project in the Suez Canal Economic Zone in Egypt as owner and operator. Its centrepiece was a desalination plant of 150,000 m³/day. Hyflux had originally been hired in March 2016 purely as an EPC contractor. The zone authority had asked for the switch to a build, own, operate (BOO) model. Hyflux said it had already found partners and expected no material financial effect in 2017.
The report showed how public clients were shifting financing and operating risk for large desalination schemes onto private developers. The plant builder thus turned from contractor into long-term owner.