Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has received three proposals from Acciona, Engie, and GS Inima, for the development of the new Shuweihat 4 Reverse Osmosis (S4 RO) Independent Water Project (IWP), the state-owned utility services procurer said in a statement.

The proposals will undergo a detailed technical and commercial evaluation process to select the best proposal. 

The statement said that project award and execution of the water purchase agreement (WPA) are expected by the first quarter of 2023, adding that the project has a target commercial operations date of third quarter of 2025.

The company will now move forward with its evaluation process on the submitted bids, EWEC Chief Executive Officer Othman Al Ali said in the statement.

The S4 RO water desalination project will play a key role in ensuring both security of water supply as well as reducing CO2 emissions, actively supporting the UAE Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative, he added.

The S4 RO project will use low-carbon intensive RO technology to desalinate seawater and supply up to 70 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD), equivalent to 318,225 cubic metres per day, of potable water to Abu Dhabi's Al Dhafra region. 

EWEC received 35 Expressions of Interest (EOI) from potential bidders after issing the tender in October 2021. The request for proposal was issued to bidders who had passed the qualification process in March 2022, with 18 qualified to bid for the project after submitting statements of qualification. 

(Writing by P Deol, Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)