U.A.E – Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has awarded a contract for the construction of the Mirfa 2 Reverse Osmosis plant to a consortium made up of Taqa and France’s Engie. Taqa, also known as Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, will take a 60 percent share of the equity in the project, along with a stake in the operations and maintenance company. The remaining 40 percent will be held by Engie. The project is expected to become fully operational in the third quarter of 2025 and will utilize low-carbon technology to produce up to 550,000 m3 of potable water a day. (The National News)
EGYPT – Cannon Artes has been awarded a $31 million contract from the Suez Oil Processing Company (SOPC) to build a desalination and demineralization plant at the SOPC refinery in the Suez region of Egypt. The desalination plant will have a production capacity of 30,000 m3/d and will occupy an area of 714 m2. Water from the Red Sea will be fed into the plant and will be treated to produce high-purity demineralized water to feed high-pressure steam boilers as well as low-salinity make-up water for cooling towers at the refinery.
In an effort to improve sustainability through reduced environmental impact, the SOPC refinery, secured a $214 million loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). According to the deal, Cannon Artes will be responsible for all stages of the engineering, design, construction and delivery of the entire water treatment infrastructure including pre-commission, commission, and start-up. The plant is expected to launch operations by the end of next year. (Construction Week)
MALDIVES – The Maldives Water and Sewage Corporation (MWSC), Renewable Energy Maldives, and Hitachi Zosen Corporation recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the construction of a solar-powered desalination plant in Gulhifalhu in Kaafu atoll.
According to the MoU the project consists of a reverse osmosis desalination plant with a production capacity of 500 m3/d and includes a 500-kilowatt solar photovoltaic (PV) system as well as a 1,450 kilowatt-hour battery energy storage system. The project is being developed and funded by the Maldives Water and Sewerage Corporation (MWSC), Renewable Energy Maldives and Hitachi Zosen Corporation. (The Edition)
Members of the Guardia Civil at an illegal desalination plant in the Mazarron area of Spain. Credit: Murcia Today
SPAIN – The Guardia Civil has uncovered a network that used an illegal desalination plant in the farmland of Mazarron adjacent to the Composol development. Operation Saladilla, a two year investigation by the Guardia Civil in collaboration with the Confederacion Hidrografica del Segura (CHS), the Water and Rivers Authority, has resulted in the investigation of three people and three companies as alleged perpetrators of crimes against natural resources and theft of water at a cost of more than $106,000.
The Guardia began their investigation in April 2021, when CHS suspected the existence of a desalination plant located in the Mazarron area that was operating without authorization. The Guardia discovered that the owner of the plant used the treated water for his own crops and also sold it to third parties for the irrigation of other farms located on unirrigated land. Analysis of the water treated in the illegal plant, revealed that the desalination of illegally collected water resulted in a by-product which was discharged without control into a waterproofed pond and showed high levels of salinity. This fact as well as its massive extraction caused both an overexploitation of the aquifer in the area and a decrease in water quality. Further investigation revealed that while carrying out this criminal practice the perpetrators probably irrigated about 40 hectares of land. (Murcia Today)