UAE’s TAQA, EWEC, alongside France’s ENGIE, have announced the successful financial closing of the AED 2.3 billion ($620 million) low carbon Mirfa 2 Reverse Osmosis (M2 RO) desalination project.
The project is primarily funded (78%) through debt financing from both local and international banks, including Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB), BNP Paribas Fortis SA/NV, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), The Norinchukin Bank, BNP Paribas (BNPP) and KfW IPEX-Bank GmbH.
This follows TAQA and ENGIE signing the water purchase agreement with EWEC (Emirates Water and Electricity Company in February of this year.
Serving as the third largest RO desalination plant in the UAE, M2 RO will produce 120 million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) of water once fully operational, equating to roughly 550,000 cubic metres per day of potable water.
Expected to be operational in Q4 2025, the plant will be owned by TAQA holding a 60% share and ENGIE taking a 40% share.
Both companies will also take on the operations and maintenance (O&M) of the plant with ENGIE taking a 60% stake in the O&M company and TAQA taking a 40% stake. EWEC will procure the water supplied from the plant for 30 years.
The technology also enables plant operators to reduce carbon emissions by decoupling of water and power generation processes, thus supporting the wider efforts of the energy sector to cut costs and achieve sustainability targets.
The engineering procurement, construction (EPC) contractors on the project will be local Abu Dhabi contractor Al Nasr Contracting Company LLC alongside Société Internationale de Dessalement (SIDEM).
Farid Al Awlaqi, Executive Director of Generation, TAQA, said that the project is in line with TAQA’s ESG and growth strategies to expand investment in and deployment of high efficiency RO technology to reach two-thirds of its capacity by 2030.
“Mirfa 2 RO also enables us to accelerate how we decouple power and water operations across our assets to further reduce our carbon impact. Critically, this project also sees TAQA continuing to expand on its O&M capabilities, which is a core part of our strategic growth ambition for 2030,” said Al Awlaqi.
Mirfa 2 RO is EWEC’s fifth low-carbon intensive RO desalination project to date and will be the third largest RO plant in the UAE once fully operational.
According to EWEC’s forecast, over 90% of its water production will be from RO technology by 2030, resulting in an 88% reduction in carbon emissions associated with water production.
