​‘Etihad Water and Electricity’ continues work on the new Desalination Plant of Umm Al Quwain, the largest project of its kind in the region.
In a statement to the Emirates News Agency, WAM, Mohammad Mohammad Saleh, Director General of the ‘Etihad WE’, said that 75% of the plant has been completed, according to data of last April, as the first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed and the actual production will start at a rate of 50 million gallons per day during the last quarter of this year. The total production capacity will reach 150 million gallons per day after the completion of all phases during the second half of 2022.
Saleh stressed that the plant is one of the most important projects that will achieve water security in the UAE, pointing out that it is designed according to the highest international standards, and relies on the latest operating systems such as electric motors equipped with Variable Frequency Drive technology to reduce energy consumption used in production.
He revealed an integrated set of projects of water sector related to the plant, including storage projects, pumping stations, and transmission and distribution networks, at a total cost of 1.2 billion dirhams.
Saleh detailed these projects to WAM as follows: Al-Khurija and Al Ghayl Distribution Centers in Ras Al Khaimah with a total capacity of 200 million gallons and a cost of 577 million dirhams, Al-Helio Distribution Center in Ajman with a capacity of 40 million gallons at a cost of 70 million dirhams, Al-Khuraija Pumping Station at a cost of 60 million dirhams, and the expansion of Al-Burairat Pumping Station at a cost of 25 million dirhams.
He said: ‘Etihad Water and Electricity’ is currently working on a number of projects to extend transmission and distribution networks in all regions, including 4 transmission lines from the new desalination plant, two of them to Al-Khurija Distribution Center with a length of 42 km at a cost of 214 million dirhams, one to UAQ Distribution Center with a length of 33 km and a cost of 163 million dirhams, and the fourth to Bateen Al Samar area with a length of 21 km and a cost of 75 million dirhams.
It is noteworthy that the new desalination plant in Umm Al Quwain is being built on an area of 250,000 square meters, and about 4,000 workers are working on the project.