​The ‘Etihad Water & Electricity’ will start operating one of the largest water pipelines in Umm Al Quwain next September, with a length of 32.5 km, at a cost of 165 million dirhams. The pipeline connects the new desalination plant in Umm Al Quwain to the new distribution center in the emirate, located in Al Abraq (2).
The Director General of ‘Etihad WE’, Mohammad Mohammad Saleh, said that the entire project completion is about 18 months, including design, manufacturing, supply, installation, testing, experimentation, civil works and sterilization, and it will transmit 30 million gallons per day.
He added that the project includes the extension of 1000 and 1200 mm diameter, pointing out that 7 work teams of contractors are working on the project under the supervision and management of consultants and concerned departments in ‘Etihad WE’.
He explained that the project faced a number of challenges, the most important of which was the emergence of the corona virus (Covid-19) which delayed the supply of some materials needed. The supervising team worked to open many communication channels with actual and potential suppliers in order to ensure the supply of materials. The efforts of these teams have already succeeded in providing the required materials on time.
He continued: Among the other challenges that faced the project as well, the Wadi crossing which is a water channel connected to the sea, where the water level varies with the tides. The contractor has been instructed to conduct soil investigation test and water level survey to observe the highest and lowest level in the Wadi. Many options studied by ‘Etihad WE’ engineering sections considering the quality standards, corrosion factors, reliability of operation period, sustainability of assets, and cost. The optimum option was to assign a subcontractor with previous similar experiences to execute the crossing, while taking the necessary technical precautions to protect it from the surrounding geographical factors.