DEWA awards Dhs16.3m advisory contract for desalination plant

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has awarded an advisory services contract worth Dhs16.3m to develop a new reverse osmosis desalination plant in the emirate.

The contract was awarded to an international company, DEWA said in a statement without specifying further details.

The plant, located at the Jebel Ali Power Station, will desalinate seawater using reverse osmosis.

It will have a total capacity of 40 million gallons per day, and is slated to be operational by April 2020, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of DEWA.

“In adherence with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, DEWA is working to retrofit existing plants with photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. This will reduce carbon emissions in the future. The plants use multi-stage flash distillation (MSF) technology, and need to be connected to a central solar plant, so this includes the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum solar park,” Al Tayer said.

“In adherence with its strategy, DEWA has chosen to use reverse osmosis technology, as they use about 90 per cent less power than MSF technology,” he added.

Currently, Dubai’s production capacity stands at 470 million imperial gallons per day with only 25 million imperial gallons produced using reverse osmosis technology.

“Most of the plants use MSF technology, and only 6 per cent use RO. MSF desalination is powered by the waste heat and is therefore fuel-free. This means that its carbon footprint is zero,” said Al Tayer.

DEWA is currently working to enhance the operational efficiency of its water networks to meet growing demand for water and contribute to sustainable development in Dubai, the statement added.

In April, DEWA said it plans to invest Dhs654m for the supply and construction of a 73-kilometre, 600-1200mm water transmission network as well as a 300km, 100-450mm water transmission network across Dubai.

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