Abu Dhabi’s TAQA To Build UAE Desalination Plant

Abu Dhabi National Energy Compay plans to build a water desalination plant in the United Arab Emirates to meet rising demand, the state-owned utility said on Tuesday.

The 30 million gallon per day plant will be built in the emirate of Ajman, producing enough water to supply 250,000 people in the northern emirates, TAQA said in a statement without disclosing the monetary size of the investment.

The plant will be owned jointly by TAQA and the Federal Electricity & Water Authority (FEWA) through a long-term water purchase agreement with FEWA, and funded with project finance.

Construction is expected to start in early 2015 and commercial operations in 2017, the statement said.

Last month a TAQA executive told Reuters that the company planned to grow its water business via new projects and acquisitions across the Middle East and North Africa, as well as in India.