Singapore’s Sembcorp Utilities has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) in the UAE to develop and build a new seawater reverse-osmosis (SWRO) desalination facility with potable water production capacity of around 30 MIGD (136,000 m³/d).
When developed, the new plant will raise Sembcorp’s total seawater desalination capacity in the UAE to 130 MIGD (591,000 m³/d).
The new SWRO facility is expected to be located on the same site as the Fujairah I Independent Water & Power Plant (IWPP), the largest operating hybrid desalination plant in the world, owned by Emirates Sembcorp Water & Power Company. Emirates Sembcorp Water & Power Company is a joint venture between Sembcorp Gulf Holding Co and Union Power Holding Company, subsidiaries of Sembcorp Utilities and ADWEA respectively.
Expected to cost approximately US$ 200 million and to be operational before the end of 2013, the water output of the new facility is expected to be sold to the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Company (ADWEC) under a 20-year water purchase agreement. This is in addition to the 22-year power and water purchase agreement for the current water and electricity output from the Fujairah 1 IWPP to ADWEC.