Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power to start operations at Umm Al Quwain desalination plant

The independent water project will help to address water requirements in the Northern Emirates

Desalination plants are a vital part of water provision in the Middle East. Photo: Acwa Power

Saudi Arabia's Acwa Power said it will start operations at a $797 million water desalination plant in Umm Al Quwain, a project that will contribute significantly to water requirements in the UAE's Northern Emirates.

The independent water project (IWP), known as the Umm Al Quwain IWP (Naqa’a), will have a capacity of 682 million litres per day, the Riyadh-based utility said in a filing to the Tadawul stock exchange, where its shares are traded.

The IWP was the result of an agreement between the UAE's Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa), Acwa and DMC Power Holding, which is owned by Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company.

The project, which was signed in 2019, is Fewa's first water purchase agreement, in which it holds a 20 per cent stake and allows it to jointly own assets with private sector companies.

Acwa Power and Mubadala each hold 40 per cent in the venture, while the government of Umm Al Quwain will join as a partner and will become a stakeholder later.

"The financial impact pertaining to the final operating phase of the project is expected from Q3 2022 financial results onwards," Acwa said in the filing.

The UAE depends heavily on desalination to supply water for drinking and industrial purposes.

Up to 42 per cent of the UAE's potable water comes from about 70 major desalination plants, which account for about 14 per cent of the world's total production of desalinated water, according to government data.

The Umm Al Quwain IWP is one of the largest desalination projects in the UAE. Some of the major desalination facilities in the UAE include the Shuweihat S2 power and water plant in Abu Dhabi, the Jebel Ali power station in Dubai and the F2 plant in Fujairah.

The UAE also has a Water Security Strategy 2036 that aims to ensure sustainability and continuous access to water.

A boy carries a bottle of drinking water to his home in the village of Madina Torobe, in the Matam region of Senegal. Maintaining access to drinking water in the country's north-west is a constant concern. Through the months of November to August no rain will fall, and rivers and natural lakes dry up. Not all areas have drinking wells and flowing taps. Where they di exist, the water is sometimes dirty or used specifically for animals. Fulani pastoralists and families living in these remote villages sometimes resort to digging large holes in dried river beds in search of cleaner drinking water from themselves and their animals. AFP

A man holds his breath while he swims in a hot spring near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. World Water Day, marked annually on March 22, raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. EPA

Fishermen steer a boat through debris off the shore of Manila, Philippines. The archipelago is surrounded by vast body of water, but finding potable sources is a challenge for many. EPA

Environmental activists in Bali, Indonesia, float a sculpture made of waste plastic and depicting a droplet to mark World Water Day. The day is used to advocate the sustainable management of freshwater resources. EPA

People walk through an art installation made of plastic water bottles as part of an awareness drive in Malang, East Java. AFP

Dead carp fish lie on the dried lakebed of the Peñuelas Lake, a reservoir in Chile's Valparaiso Region. The reservoir, which supplies drinking water to Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, accumulates 0.2 per cent of its total water capacity. The central zone of Chile is facing one of the most extensive droughts documented. Despite its total capacity of 95 million cubic metres, the lake holds only 170 thousand cubic metres today. AFP

Bikram Shah, 18, digs about six metres underground to build a well in Kathmandu, Nepal. On the backdrop of rapid urban population growth, industrialisation and uncertainties caused by climate change, the city becomes short of water in the winter and spring seasons. The theme of this year’s World Water Day is Groundwater – Making the Invisible Visible. EPA

A woman collects drinking water from the city corporation water tap, on the occasion of World Water Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh. World Water Day is observed annually on 22 March to call attention and raise efforts for global access to clean water. This year's theme is Groundwater - Making the Invisible Visibible. EPA

Flowers are watered in Bitan, a tourist hot spot in New Taipei City, Taiwan. AFP

A man carries jerrycans to be filled with water in Karachi, Pakistan. EPA

Eduardo Capillan and his son, Neo, control a hose that is funnelling water from a pump outside into their house in Sitio Bakal along the outskirts of Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. With assistance from government and non-government agencies, an emergency water disinfection and filtration system is providing clean drinking water to the remote community. EPA

People in a slum in Kolkata, India, collect drinking water from a municipal container tank. EPA

South Korean environmental activists hold placards reading ‘I will protect the sea from microplastics’ during a campaign to mark World Water Day at a park along the Han River in Seoul. AFP

A man bathes in ‘Los Chorros’ pools formed by a natural spring of water, in Colón, El Salvador. AFP

A woman drinks water distributed by a tanker to El Crucero, a town on the outskirts of Managua, Nicaragua. AFP

In May, Suhail Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, said that the value of investment in new desalination plants in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Umm Al Quwain stood at Dh7.6bn ($2.06bn).

The annual growth rate of the local water desalination industry is 3 per cent, he said.

In June, Acwa Power and Emirates Water and Electricity Company started operations on the first phase of the $874m Al Taweelah IWP in Abu Dhabi.

The utility is also expanding its footprint across the region and globally. Acwa is leading a consortium to develop a 1.1-gigawatt wind project worth $1.5bn in Egypt, and has teamed up with Oman’s OQ energy company to build a multibillion-dollar green hydrogen-based ammonia production unit in the sultanate.

Last month, Acwa Power partnered with South Korea's Posco Holdings to develop green hydrogen, and in May it was selected as a preferred bidder to develop solar projects in Indonesia.