UAE real estate developer Arada announced on Monday that it is backing a sustainable water treatment project in Sharjah, which will treat, recycle and produce treated water for irrigation purposes.

The project is the first in the Middle East to use Metabolic Network Reactor (MNR) technology developed by Hungarian water tech firm Biopolus, Arada said in press statement.

The statement said the treated water would be used for the irrigation of landscapes located within Arada’s $6.5 billion Aljada mega project and neighbouring Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP).

Construction of the plant, located on a 9,900 square metre (sqm) plot on the boundary between Aljada and SRTIP, is currently underway and is scheduled to be completed in April 2024.

Phase 1 will have the capacity to recycle 5,500 cubic metres of water (m3/day), with two further phases providing the capacity to recycle 16,500 m3/ day.

US engineering giant Jacobs is the lead consultant on the project, the statement said, adding that further plants are also planned to serve Arada’s other projects.

Details about project costs and treatment processes weren’t disclosed but the press statement described MNR technology as “a biological engineering process that mimics natural processes by using artificial root structures containing microbial biofilms to clean water rapidly, efficiently, sustainably and without the use of chemicals.”

Arada also announced that it is investing in a research and development (R&D) facility for the MNR technology. The company said it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Biopolus, SRTIP and Dubai-based global water projects company Metito to develop and implement upgraded versions of the Biopolus technology.

The long-term goal for the facility will be to create an improved ‘Biopolus 2.0’ version of the technology, while also turning Sharjah into a global hub for the process.

(Writing by Anoop Menon; Editing by Bhaskar Raj)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)