Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) of UAE said it has received proposals from ACCIONA, ACWA Power, Engie and GS Inima for the development of its new Mirfa 2 (M2) reverse osmosis (RO) independent water project (IWP).
“Two proposals from each company were received – one for a capacity of 80 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD), sufficient to meet the water demand for up to 140,000 households, and a second proposal for a capacity of up to 120 MIGD,” according to EWEC, Wam reported.
The proposals will now undergo a detailed technical and commercial evaluation process to select the best proposal.
The awarding announcement and the execution of the water purchase agreement is expected to take place by Q4 2022.
The expected date for starting commercial operations is Q2 2025.
The M2 RO project will see the selected bidder developing, financing, constructing, operating, maintaining and owning a standalone brownfield RO seawater desalination plant.
Aside from improving water supply in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, M2 will play an instrumental role in enhancing production efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions.
EWEC received more than 41 expressions of interest (EOIs) from potential bidders for the M2 RO project in February 2021, with 22 qualified to bid for the project after submitting statements of qualification.
Othman Al Ali, chief executive officer of EWEC, said, “EWEC is committed to continuing its strategic investment in developing low-carbon intensive water desalination facilities equipped with the latest sustainable RO technologies.”
According to AL Ali, adoption of this technology provides significant efficiency benefits compared to traditional thermal desalination.
He said in line with the Organisation’s established project development model, it had moved through the submission process and conducted the necessary due diligence on the proposals.
“We are pleased to receive strong and competitive bids that align with EWEC’s vision to decarbonise the energy sector and decouple the Emirate’s power and water generation capacity in-line with the UAE Net-Zero by 2050 strategic initiative,” he added.
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