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UAE begins massive reverse osmosis buildup

11 April 2023

This package on the UAE's water sector also includes:

> Dewa extends Hassyan IWP bid deadline

> Adnoc resumes Project Wave negotiations

> Sharjah issues first independent water tender

> Ewec rules out solar in desalination projects

> French/local team wins contract to build Mirfa 2 IWP

> Adnoc selects Cobra-led team for PPP project

State utilities in the UAE are seeking to increase the share of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) technology in the overall capacity of their desalination plants in line with their carbon emission reduction targets and the UAE’s net-zero by 2050 goal.

This will end the domination of water production capacity by thermal desalination plants over the past decades.

The demand for additional SWRO capacity is especially evident in Abu Dhabi, where nearly half of the existing water desalination capacity will come out of contract between 2025 and 2029.

The power- and water-purchase agreements (P/WPA) for four major utility plants in Abu Dhabi, with a total combined water desalination capacity of 441 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD), will expire during this period.

Unlike the thermal power plant components of these independent water and power projects (IWPPs), which are subject to extension negotiations, the state utility Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) is inclined to dismantle all thermal desalination plants associated with these assets – or convert them into SWRO plants – upon the expiry of their contracts. This strategy aligns with its goal to halve its carbon emissions.

Over the next two to four years, Ewec envisages putting 290MIGD of SWRO capacity in place. This is in addition to the Taweelah SWRO plant’s remaining 100MIGD of capacity that is yet to enter commercial operation. Once this plant is at full capacity, it will plug in the capacity from Taweelah A2, the emirate’s first thermal IWPP, which was mothballed in 2021.

Recent SWRO projects in Abu Dhabi include the 120MIGD Mirfa 2 independent water producer (IWP) project, which France’s Engie is developing; the 70MIGD Shuweihat 4 IWPHudayriat and Saadiyat islands, which will each have a capacity of 50MIGD.

RELATED READ: Mirfa 2 award sends positive market signal

Both Mirfa 2 and Shuweihat 4 have a target commercial operation date of 2025, while the two Abu Dhabi Islands IWP projects are expected to provide replacement capacity for the Sas al-Nakhl plant, whose contract expires in 2027.

Longer term, Ewec will need to procure 494MIGD of SWRO capacity by 2036, under the base-case scenario of its 2023-29 Statement of Future Capacity Requirements.

Demand fluctuations

Demand for desalinated water in Abu Dhabi over the short term is anticipated to decrease from just under 800MIGD in 2022 to 764MIGD this year. This is due to reduced exports to Etihad Water & Electricity (Ewe), which is commissioning its first 150MIGD IWP in Umm al-Quwain.

Demand is expected to grow slowly between 2023 and 2029, when it is projected to reach 805MIGD. This is just slightly higher than in 2022, primarily due to recycled water replacing desalinated water as the dominant irrigation supply source.

In Dubai, the procurement process is under way for the 120MIGD Hassyan IWP. The contract for the emirate’s first IWP was tendered before and awarded in 2020, but the project stalled and Dewa relaunched the tender in 2022.

Four teams led by Engie, Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power, Spain/South Korea’s GS Inima and Metito are understood to be among those qualified to bid for the contract.

The project has a planned capacity of 120MIGD, with an alternative proposal for an aggregate capacity of 180MIGD. Dewa expects to commission it in phases between 2025 and 2026.

The facility is part of Dewa’s plan to increase its water desalination production capacity from 490MIGD to 750MIGD by 2030. By this time, it envisages RO to account for 41 per cent of its overall desalination capacity, in support of Dubai’s 2050 Clean Energy Strategy.

Northern emirates

As previously stated, the Northern Emirates’ first 150MIGD IWP in Umm al-Quwain is undergoing commissioning. This frees up capacity for Abu Dhabi, which has been exporting both water and electricity to the smaller northern UAE emirates.

In early April, Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority also issued the request for proposals for the contract to develop Sharjah’s first IWP. Located next to an existing desalination plant in Hamriyah, the planned IWP will have a capacity of 90MIGD.

UAE power sector shapes up ahead of Cop28

Other projects

Abu Dhabi Sewerage Services Company is evaluating proposals received earlier this year for a contract to design and build a treated sewage effluent (TSE) polishing plant in Al-Wathba. 

The plant is expected to have a design capacity of 700,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d), with the potential to expand this capacity to 950,000 cm/d in a subsequent phase. The TSE facility will produce water for higher-end applications than the TSE produced at standard sewage treatment plants.

The largest individual projects within the sector are the two seawater treatment plants, frequently called Project Wave, being procured by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc).

The Mirfa and Al-Nouf nanofiltration plants and their associated utilities have budgets of between $2bn and $2.5bn each. The Mirfa package is in the advanced procurement stage, with negotiations continuing between Adnoc and the shortlisted bidders as this article is published. 

This month's special report on the UAE also includes: 

> UAE power sector shapes up ahead of Cop28

> Strategic Adnoc projects register notable progress

> UAE lenders chart a route to growth

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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