Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) has invited firms to bid by 19 July for the advisory services contract for phase two of its seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) complex in Hassyan.

The Hassyan phase 2 independent water project (IWP) is expected to have a design capacity of 60 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD).

The state utility’s initial public offering (IPO) prospectus had indicated plans to develop two additional phases of the Hassyan SWRO complex.

Based on that plan, the first 60MIGD-plant is expected to come online in 2029 and the second one in 2030.

First phase

UAE-based utilities developer Utico has yet to reach financial close on the first Hassyan IWP project, which has a design capacity of 120MIGD.

The developer initially expected to have the financing package in place for the AED1.5bn ($410m) project in July last year, after signing a 35-year water purchase agreement with Dewa for the project in March that year.

Utico saw off competition from Saudi-based utilities developer Acwa Power to win the contract by offering a levelised water cost of $cents 27.762 a cubic metre, so far the world’s lowest levelised water cost.

It is understood Utico and Ghantoot Gulf Contracting will undertake the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the project.

Both Utico and Ghantoot Gulf Contracting are part of the Abu Dhabi-headquartered Ghantoot Group. 

Background

The Hassyan IWP was first tendered in October 2019 before being retendered in May 2020.

At the time, the SWRO plant was expected to commence production in 2024.

Initial plans envision developing the IWP in two phases, with the commissioning date for the first 60-MIGD phase, block A, scheduled for April 2023, and the operation date for the second 60-MIGD phase, block B, planned for August 2023.

In May 2018, Dewa appointed the UK’s EY as lead and financial adviser, UK-based CMS as legal adviser and Canada’s WSP as technical adviser.

The project forms part of Dewa’s strategy to increase water desalination capacity in Dubai to 750 MIGD, from 470 MIGD. 

Dewa plans to produce 100 per cent desalinated water from a mix of clean energy and waste heat by 2030, managing director and CEO Saeed Mohammed al-Tayer said.