The UAE has become one of the largest producers of desalinated water in the world, new data has revealed.
Combined with other GCC nations, the Emirates produces about 40 per cent of the globe’s desalinated water supply.
Saudi Arabia is the industry’s market leader and is responsible for about a fifth of the world’s output.
It produces about four million cubic metres of desalinated water per day and is expected to invest $80 billion (Dh293bn) in new projects over the next 10 years.
The UAE is also investing heavily in key desalination projects across the country.
The Taweelah desalination plant in Abu Dhabi is expected to supply 909,200 cubic metres of water per day when it opens in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Jebel Ali plant complex near Dubai, with a capacity of 150,000 cubic metres of water per day, is due to open this year.
The new figures were released before the Mena Desalination Projects Conference, which takes place in Abu Dhabi in March.
Dr Corrado Sommariva, chief executive of Sustainable Water and Power Consultants, said the conference would showcase innovation in the sector.
“The event is a perfect blend of key water sector players that brings together the public sector, the region’s vision for the future development and the industry which has to follow through with innovation and sustainable solutions,” he said.
Currently, the world’s largest water desalination facility is the Jubail plant in Saudi Arabia. It produces 1.4 million cubic metres of water per day.
In Oman, the desalination market has been expanding by five per cent a year to cope with increasing demand.
The country has nine large desalination plants, plus 47 smaller production facilities that supply about 86 per cent of the country’s water.
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
Occicor – shelf management
Olymon Solutions – smart automation
Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
Searover – renewables
Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
