U.A.E. – GS Engineering & Construction subsidiary GS Inima has secured the Shuweihat S4 Reverse Osmosis Independent Water Project in the UAE, valued at approximately $772 million. This project, located about 250 km west of Abu Dhabi, involves adding a desalination facility with a daily capacity of about 320,000 cubic meters to an existing desalination plant complex. The project will follow the Build-Own-Operate (BOO) format, with GS Inima handling project financing and Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC). After completion, GS Inima will jointly own and operate the facility with TAQA (Abu Dhabi National Energy Company) for 30 years. The EPC contract is worth about $353 million, and revenue from 30 years of operations is expected to be around $421 million. (Business Korea)
PHILIPPINES – New desalination facilities are being set up in two towns, Tabuan Lasa and Hadji Muhtamad, in Basilan, Philippines, to provide safe drinking water from the sea. Funded by the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, the projects were launched at separate events, each costing $300,000. Tabuan Lasa Mayor Moner Manisan expressed excitement about having a functional desalination facility to convert seawater into safe drinking water. The towns currently lack sources of safe drinking water, and residents buy water from mainland Basilan. Despite initial mixed feelings, residents appreciate the desalination facility projects, according to Basilan's provincial information officer. (Philstar Global)
NAMIBIA – InnoSun Energy Holdings, a subsidiary of French company InnoVent, is set to construct a 10-megawatt wind farm at Trekkopje in the Namib Desert, aimed at supplying clean electricity to the Erongo water desalination plant owned by Orano Mining Namibia. The project follows a ten-year power purchase agreement (PPA) signed a year ago, where InnoSun would supply 5 MW of electricity from a solar power plant to the desalination plant. The new wind farm will increase InnoSun's installed capacity in Namibia. The desalination plant was initially built to supply fresh water to the Trekkopje uranium mine but now sells desalinated water to Namibia Water Corporation for distribution in the Erongo region. The Erongo desalination plant had a construction cost of $165 million. (Windhoek Observer)
OMAN – Sharqiyah Desalination Company (SDC) is making its Independent Water Project (IWP) at Sur in Oman the first in the region to be powered by renewable electricity. SDC, in partnership with TotalEnergies, will connect its 80,000 cubic meters/day capacity desalination plant to a new captive solar photovoltaic farm. The solar project will produce up to 30,000 megawatt-hours of green electricity annually, covering over 33% of the plant's daily consumption and avoiding around 280,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. This initiative aligns with Oman's National Energy Strategy to achieve 30% renewable energy in its electricity use by 2030. (ZAWYA)
JORDAN – Jordan's National Water Carrier Project, considered the world's second-largest water desalination project is set to supply drinking water to all governorates in the country. The project includes an intake station on the southern shore of the Gulf of Aqaba, a desalination and pumping station in Aqaba, and a 450-kilometer-long transmission line. With a capacity of up to 821,917 m3/d the project aims to address the gap between water demand and availability. It is not tied to any political commitments and is viewed as a massive national endeavor, marking the largest project in Jordan's history. (Jordan News)
ACWA Power has been recognized as the world’s largest water project developer outside of China. Credit: ACWA Power
SAUDI ARABIA – ACWA Power has been recognized by Global Water Intelligence (GWI) as the world's largest water project developer outside of China. GWI, known for its water industry market reports, placed ACWA Power at the forefront based on its massive 6.8 million cubic meters per day of gross capacity and 3.2 million cubic meters per day of net capacity. In 2022, ACWA Power expanded its water desalination capacity by 2.4 million cubic meters per day through the establishment of four plants in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the UAE. ACWA Power's CEO, Marco Arcelli, expressed gratitude for the recognition and highlighted the company's global presence and ambitious plans to double capacity by 2030. GWI's ranking considers companies that have excelled in water and wastewater treatment, using private finance through equity stakes in project entities. (Utilities Middle East)