Mott MacDonald has been appointed owner's engineer for the new Umm Al Nar power and desalination plant near Abu Dhabi.

The client Arabian Power Company is 60 per cent owned by Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea) and 40 per cent by a consortium led by International Power and including Tokyo Electric Power Company and Mitsui.
The œ500 million ($825 million) combined cycle gas-fired plant will have an installed capacity of 1,550 MW and 25 million gallons per day (migd) of desalinated water.
It will help meet the increasing power and water demand in the region and replace an existing 805 MW plant due to be decommissioned in 2008.
Mott MacDonald's role as owner's engineer will run for the three-year design and construction period and will comprise design review and supervising construction, inspection, testing and commissioning.
The consultant will also be required to remain on site up to the end of the warranty period and monitor the transfer of the plant to the operation and maintenance company.
Construction by EPC contractor Mitsui - with Toshiba and Hitachi Zosen as principal sub-contractors for the power and water plant respectively - will begin towards the end of this year. Commercial operation is expected to begin by mid 2006.