Contract awarded to build $272m water plant in Fujairah

UAE state-backed Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE) is proceeding with the construction of a desalination plant in Fujairah to meet rising water demand from the residential and industrial sectors.

Lantania NMDC Water, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based NMDC Infra and Spain’s Lantania Aguas, won the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the AED1 billion ($272 million) Fujairah I independent water producer project.

The plant has a 60 million imperial gallons per day seawater reverse osmosis desalination capacity and storage equivalent to 18 hours of production, the state-run Wam news agency reported.

The EPC contract value was not disclosed.

The project is the second to be procured by EtihadWE under the public-private partnership model, following the Naqa’a desalination plant in Umm Al Quwain.

The plant will be located within the Port of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, with access to key maritime and land infrastructure. Once operational, it will support the water needs of households, businesses and industries in Fujairah and across EtihadWE’s service areas.

The project is expected to be delivered over 30 months.

Lantania NMDC Water was established following NMDC Infra’s acquisition of a 51 percent stake in Lantania Aguas in January. NMDC Infra is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-listed NMDC Group.

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