In April 2017, Water. Desalination + reuse (Faversham House) reported, citing Construction Review Online, that talks on a large desalination plant had started in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, brewer SABMiller and salt maker Marina Sea Salt took part. The talks ran under the national Business Adopt-a-Municipality (BAaM) programme, which aimed to link state, business and councils. The idea was to raise desalted water output at Marina Sea Salt and treat it further to drinking quality, linked to an agreement between SABMiller and a national department.
The report showed that South African municipalities looked to industrial partners for desalination and considered an existing salt works as a starting point for drinking water supply.