Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE) has completed about 90% of the work on 29 vital projects worth AED 3 billion ($820 million), which will combine to form a new water transmission network across the Northern Emirates.
The projects, in Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, will provide the required pumping, pipeline and network storage facilities to deliver 682,000 cu m (150 million gallons) per day of water to EtihadWE customers produced by the new desalination plant at Umm Al Quwain.
The projects comprise 336 km of pipeline, four pumping stations and 22 storage reservoirs.
EtihadWE is currently working, in cooperation with its strategic partners, to implement a number of projects that are in line with the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 and aimed to ensuring the sustainability and continuity of access to water during all conditions, said Mohammad Mohammad Saleh, Director General of EtihadWE, who visited the new Water Distribution Centre in Ras Al Khaimah to follow up on the progress of the 29 projects, accompanied by Aref Ahmad Berhama, Executive Director of Water Directorate and group of officials.
During the visit, Mohammad Saleh was accompanied by Anas Al Kassem, representing Stantec, the consultant responsible for the design, and supervision of the system.
These emirates are experiencing rapid growth in population and several new commercial and industrial megaprojects have been planned, which will require significant water infrastructure. In response EtihadWE is building the water production and water transmission infrastructure to meet their short, medium, and long-term needs.
Saleh added: “This strategic water scheme will support water security for residents and business in the Northern Emirates providing water for residential, industrial and agricultural sectors, bringing both environmental and economic benefits. It is also allowing EtihadWE to halt the operation of older thermal desalination plants thus reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide, associated with water desalination process.”
He said that this scheme will also link all the areas supervised by the company together for the first time, ensure greater efficiency in controlling and distributing water through Al-Khurijah Distribution Centre, provide a digital platform to monitor and reduce water losses and prioritize maintenance work and replace old networks.
