Utico, a leading full-service utility, has been named the preferred bidder by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) for the construction and operation of the Hassyan Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) plant in Dubai.

The 120-million-gallons-per-day (MGD) facility is Dewa’s first independent water producer (IWP) project. The company had released the tender for the project in October last year and issued a re-tender in May 2020. The SWRO project is expected to commence production in 2024.

“The project is part of Dewa’s strategy to increase the water desalination capacity in Dubai to 750 MGD, from 470 MGD at present,” remarked its Managing Director and CEO Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer. “We ensure the continuation of the 100 per cent availability of Dewa’s services according to the highest levels of availability, reliability, and efficiency thanks to our state-of-the-art infrastructure and advanced technologies. This is based on innovation and sound scientific planning so that we contribute to making the UAE the world’s leading nation by its centennial in 2071.”

He pointed out that Dewa had a clear direction for the energy sector in line with the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to provide 75 per cent of Dubai’s power capacity from clean energy sources by 2050.

“We are building water production plants based on reverse osmosis which requires less energy than Multi-Stage Flash distillation (MSF) plants, making it a more sustainable choice for water desalination. By 2030, Dewa aims to produce 100 per cent of desalinated water by a mix of clean energy and waste heat,” he added.