UAE | Environment

$40b desalination projects planned to boost production

The two biggest emirates in the country have "significant" future desalination production investments pegged at up to $40 billion (Dh146.8 billion) to "produce a river of water" and meet increasing water demand, a leading desalination expert has said.

  • By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:51 June 15, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • As much as 64.9 tonnes of antiscalant, 23.7 tonnes of chlorine and almost 300kg of copper are pumped back into the Arabian Gulf daily from desalination plants around the region.
  • Image Credit: Gulf News Archive

Dubai: The two biggest emirates in the country have "significant" future desalination production investments pegged at up to $40 billion (Dh146.8 billion) to "produce a river of water" and meet increasing water demand, a leading desalination expert has said.

Abu Dhabi plans to double its current daily production of 630 million gallons at a cost of $20 billion, while Dubai will increase current production by 600 million gallons a day, at a cost of between $10 billion and $20 billion over the next decade, said Leon Awerbuch, past president of the International Desalination Association.

Desalination can have dire impacts on the environment, a Gulf News report revealed yesterday, with as much as 64.9 tonnes of antiscalant, 23.7 tonnes of chlorine and almost 300kg of copper pumped back into the Arabian Gulf daily from desalination plants around the region.

Speaking at the announcement of the future International Desalination Association (IDA) World Congress, which will take place in Dubai in November, Awerbuch said impacts were not "dramatic" in this region, although more studies are needed.

"Daily production in the UAE is 8.4 million cubic metres of water& The Gulf is clearly using more water than in any other part of the world but cost and energy consumption is being reduced," he said. Awerbuch added that the worse impact is copper and could accumulate in the marine environment. "Chemicals for antiscalants and antifouling are all approved by the Food and Drug Administation [FDA] and are biodegradable," he told Gulf News. Mineral recovery from brine of salts, magnesium or calcium are attempted but have been commercially unsuccessful.

"The bottom line is we have to use desalination because we have no other choices. We're not saying it is zero-impact but it is incomparable to what it used to be, and how much technology has improved. We are aware of the issues and they will be addressed during the congress," said Awerbuch.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority's future plans to produce 9,000 megawatts of electricity will exceed the energy production of New York City. However, only three per cent of this energy production actually powers desalination processes in the city.

Fadi Juez, director and chairman of the IDA organising committee and managing director of Metito, emphasised that in future a unified perspective among countries relying on the Arabian Gulf as a water source could be forged.


Should people take action and try to save water on their part? What innovative practices do you follow to save water?

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