The Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) and Sembcorp Industries have announced successful completion and commencement of operations of an approximately US$200 million expansion to the Fujairah 1 Independent Water and Power Plant (IWPP) in the UAE.
The expansion has increased the plant’s total seawater desalination capacity by 30 percent to 130 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD).
With more than half of the plant’s desalinated water produced using reverse osmosis technology, the Fujairah 1 IWPP is now one of the largest reverse osmosis desalination facilities in the Middle East.
The 30 MIGD water output from the expansion will be sold to the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Company (ADWEC) under a 20-year water purchase agreement. This will help to meet the increasing water demand in the UAE, and also provide additional income for the plant.
The expansion has the ability to use the plant’s uncontracted surplus power to produce the additional water at a highly competitive cost. It has also been configured for greater environmental efficiency and energy savings.
The Fujairah 1 IWPP is owned and operated by Emirates Sembcorp Water & Power Company, a joint venture that is 60 percent owned by ADWEA and the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), and 40 percent by Sembcorp.
Rajani Baburajan