Acwa Power to operate at Umm Al Quwain desalination plant
-
Roshan Amiri
- . August 11, 2022
- . Update: August 11, 2022 8:04 pm
Saudi arabia– Acwa Power of Saudi Arabia announced the opening of a $797 million water desalination facility at Umm Al Quwain, which would considerably help meet water needs in the Northern Emirates of the United Arab Emirates.
The Riyadh-based utility announced the capacity of the Umm Al Quwain Independent Water Project (IWP), also known as the Umm Al Quwain IWP (Naqa’a), in a report to the Tadawul Stock Exchange, where its shares are traded.
The Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa), Acwa, and DMC Power Holding, which is controlled by Mubadala Investment Company in Abu Dhabi, came to an agreement to create the IWP.
Fewa’s first water purchase agreement, which was inked in 2019, is a project in which it has a 20% ownership and is able to co-own assets with businesses from the private sector.
The government of Umm Al Quwain will join as a partner and subsequently become a shareholder in the project; Acwa Power and Mubadala each own 40% of it.
Related Posts
In the filing, Acwa stated that “the financial effect relevant to the final operational phase of the project is projected from Q3 2022 financial results onwards.” The UAE extensively relies on desalination to supply water for industrial and drinking needs.
According to government statistics, up to 70 large desalination facilities, which produce roughly 14% of all the desalinated water produced worldwide, supply up to 42% of the UAE’s drinkable water.
One of the biggest desalination projects in the UAE is the Umm Al Quwain IWP. The Shuweihat S2 power and water plant in Abu Dhabi, the Jebel Ali power station in Dubai, and the F2 facility in Fujairah are a few of the UAE’s most important desalination facilities. The Water Security Strategy 2036 of the United Arab Emirates strives to guarantee sustainability and ongoing water access.
Suhail Al Mazrouei, the UAE’s Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, stated in May that Dh7.6 billion ($2.06 billion) had been invested in new desalination facilities in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Umm Al Quwain.
According to him, the local water desalination sector is growing at a 3% yearly pace. Acwa Power and Emirates Water and Electricity Company began operating the $874 million Al Taweelah IWP in Abu Dhabi’s first phase in June.
The utility is also increasing its geographic reach both locally and internationally. Acwa is heading a partnership to create a $1.5 billion wind project in Egypt with a capacity of 1.1 gigawatts, and the business has partnered with Oman’s OQ energy company to establish a green ammonia manufacturing facility there with a capacity of several billion dollars.
Acwa Power teamed up with Posco Holdings of South Korea last month to create green hydrogen, and in May it was chosen as a preferred bidder to create solar projects in Indonesia.
