Gulf Construction Online - $1.5bn boost for water, electricity

UAE Focus

$1.5bn boost for water, electricity

01 March 2011

UAE President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has ordered an investment of Dh5.7 billion ($1.55 billion) to expand the country’s water and electricity services, according to local newspaper reports.

The move follows a tour of the Northern Emirates by Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Under the order, the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea) has been instructed to supply the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (Fewa) with around 1,300 MW of power.

Sheikh Khalifa also ordered the construction of a 100-km water pipeline from Kalba, on the UAE’s east coast, to Dibba in the north, passing through the cities of Fujairah and Khor Fakkan. Estimated to cost Dh900 million ($245 million), the pipeline will supply 23 million gallons per day (gpd) to Fujairah, 5 million gpd each to Khor Fakkan, Dibba and Kalba and 3 million gpd to Dhadnah.

Another 60-km-long pipeline, costing Dh300 million ($81.67 million), will be built to supply 18 million gpd of water to the emirate of Umm Al Quwain, from Adwea power and desalination plants in Fujairah.

The President also ordered the supply of 700 MW of power by Adwea to Sharjah, construction of a new main transmission station with a capacity of 400 kV and costing Dh500 million ($136 million) in the city of Sharjah and for the supply of an additional 10 million gpd of water to Sharjah.

Sheikh Khalifa instructed setting up of a committee of representatives from the Adwea, Fewa and the Northern Emirates’ municipalities in order to study future demand for water and electricity supplies and to lay down suitable measures to guarantee the implementation of appropriate solutions.

The President had earlier ordered the construction of a 36-km pipeline, costing Dh158 million ($43.01 million) to supply water to Ras Al Khaimah, which is expected to be operational this October. He had also ordered the construction of two power plants with a capacity of 132 kV in Kalba and Khor Fakkan at a cost of Dh220 million ($59.89 million), to be linked to the Adwea grid.

The Adwea has so far invested around Dh4 billion ($1.08 billion) in the development of its power grid in the Northern Emirates. It has also constructed two water desalination and power generation projects in Fujairah at a cost of Dh16 billion ($4.35 billion), through joint ventures with companies from Japan, Singapore and Britain.

Of these, the newest, the Fujairah F2 Plant, is a greenfield power and desalination plant capable of producing 2,000 MW of power and 130 million gpd of water. It started operating last December, increasing production capacity in the Adwea’s Fujairah plants to 2,850 MW of power and 230 million gpd of water.