WATER and wastewater treatment specialist Metito is helping to give utility supplies in Abu Dhabi a welcome boost following the construction of a new multi-billion-dirham independent water and power plant (IWPP).
The UAE’s Shuweihat S2 IWPP is located near Jebel Dhana, 250 km west of Abu Dhabi city and will have the capacity to supply a population of around 1.5 million people with water and power, upon its completion in 2011.  The plant is valued at $3.2 billion and was initiated by the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea) and Ruwais Power Company, as a way of increasing the city’s power and water output.
Abu Dhabi has one of the highest per capita water consumption rates in the world at 350 litres per person per day and this is predicted to almost double by 2015. Metito was sub-contracted by Samsung C & T Corporation to design, manufacture, supply, install and commission a demineralisation plant for the project that will produce high purity water to feed the boilers generating steam for the power turbines and the contract value is Dh6.35 million ($1.72 million).
Bassem Halabi from Metito says: “Metito’s plant is at the forefront of demineralisation technology and will produce ultra pure water to meet the project’s stringent specifications whilst maintaining a green approach in line with the company’s commitment to a cleaner environment.”
The project is one of many in the power sector for Metito, with the last such project being the recently announced Fujairah power plant by Alstom. Other projects of its type carried out by Metito include Hartha and Najibiya in Iraq, Asam Asam in Indonesia, Jebal Ali Power Plant and Um Al Nar in Abu Dhabi, to name a few.