In 2008, Hamma Water Desalination SpA, a special project company combining 70 percent financing from GE and 30 percent from the Algerian Energy Company, was selected to design, build, own and operate the 200,000-cubic-meters-per-day (53 million gallons per day) Hamma Seawater Desalination Plant. It is a reverse osmosis (RO) seawater desalination facility that significantly alleviates water scarcity in Algiers and was the first RO desalination plant in Africa to be funded by public and private investment. GE also was awarded a 25-year contract to operate and maintain the plant.