Financial closure of the low-carbon Mirfa 2 Reverse Osmosis (M2 RO) desalination project has been achieved and the third largest RO desalination plant in the UAE is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2025.
This was announced by Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), French low-carbon services company ENGIE and Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC), in a filing with Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
The Mirfa 2 Reverse Osmosis plant (M2 RO) will produce 120 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) of water once fully operational, equating to roughly 550,000 cubic metres per day of potable water.
The AED2.3 billion ($620 million) project is primarily funded (78 percent) through debt financing from both local and international banks, including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), BNP Paribas Fortis, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), The Norinchukin Bank, BNP Paribas and KfW IPEX-Bank.
The plant will be owned by TAQA (60 percent share) and ENGIE (40 percent share). Both companies will also take on the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the plant, with ENGIE taking a 60 percent stake in the O&M company and TAQA 40 percent. The two companies have already signed a 30-year water purchase agreement with EWEC in February this year.
Paris-based ENGIE has more than 30 years of experience in the Middle East and more than 1,300 MIGD of water desalination capacity. The group’s extensive expertise in desalination focuses on developing assets that use Reverse Osmosis membrane technology.
Farid Al Awlaqi, Executive Director of Generation, TAQA, commented: “TAQA is proud to invest in the development, ownership, and operation of this critical water project in Abu Dhabi. In line with our ESG and growth strategies to expand investment in and deployment of high efficiency RO technology to reach two-thirds of our capacity by 2030, Mirfa 2 RO also enables us to accelerate how we decouple power and water operations across our assets to further reduce our carbon impact.
“Critically, this project also sees TAQA continuing to expand on its O&M capabilities, which is a core part of our strategic growth ambition for 2030.
“In the ‘Year of Sustainability’ and COP28, it is important that we showcase world-class projects like these which exemplify sustainability and also contribute to water security, a global issue and an important agenda item at the conference taking place in the UAE this year.”
Othman Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of EWEC, said that over 90 percent of Abu Dhabi’s water production will be from RO technology by 2030, and added: “Achieving this significant milestone demonstrates EWEC’s leadership in enabling world-class utility-scale projects backed by strong local and international partners that accelerate the UAE’s energy transition, while ensuring a sustainable, affordable, and secure supply of water.
“Creating a pipeline of RO projects that attract investment in the sector is an integral part of EWEC’s strategic initiative to decouple water and power generation, which in turn will enable us to realise the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Strategic Targets 2035 to reduce carbon emissions by up to 75 percent.”
M2 RO will leverage highly efficient RO desalination, which is up to six times more efficient compared to traditional thermal desalination. The technology also enables plant operators to reduce carbon emissions by decoupling of water and power generation processes.
The engineering procurement and construction (EPC) contractors on the project will be local Abu Dhabi contractor Al Nasr Contracting Company LLC alongside Société Internationale de Dessalement (SIDEM).
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