ACWA Power consortium inks agreements for UAE desalination plant

The Federal Electricity & Water Authority (FEWA) and a consortium consisting of ACWA Power and MDC Power Holding Company, has entered into a water purchase agreement for a 150 million imperial gallon per day desalination plant in Umm Al Quwain, UAE.

MDC Power Holding Company is fully owned by UAE-based Mubadala Investment Company (Mubadala).

Under the terms of the agreement, FEWA will hold 20 percent of the stake, while ACWA Power and Mubadala will each own 40 percent. The government of Umm Al Quwain will join as a partner in the project and will own a stake at a later date.

“The plant is set to supply 150 million imperial gallons per day to the Northern Emirates and will prompt the private sector to further invest in those areas,” HE Eng. Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy & Industry and Chairman of FEWA, said.

Once commissioned, the Umm Al Quwain plant will be the largest desalination project in the Northern Emirates, and will utilize Seawater Reverse Osmosis technology.

The project cost is highly competitive and will utilize state-of-the-art technology allowing it to efficiently produce water while preserving the environment, ACWA Power said in a statement.

“This project will be FEWA’s first IWP project to be held in the Northern Emirates, which will help in utilizing an efficient water generation system to meet and secure the demands of both, residential and agriculture sectors with competitive economical prices,” Mohammad Mohammad Saleh, Director General of FEWA, said.

Construction is expected to commence in the second half of 2019, with initial water production scheduled in 2021. 

“We made the strategic decision to expand our footprint in the UAE through investing in the Umm Al Quwain SWRO and increasing our contribution to the safe and reliable delivery of water,” Paddy Padmanathan, President and CEO of ACWA Power, said.