RAK’s Utico to invest $327m in UAE utilities projects
Projects to include water transmission pipeline to Sharjah
Ras Al Khaimah-based utilities company Utico has announced investments of nearly AED1.2 billion ($326.7 million) in projects across the Emirates to meet growing demand for power and water.
The projects include a water transmission and storage project between Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah and a desalination facility to be set up in Ras Al Khaimah, the firm said in a statement.
Work has commenced on the AED410 million ($111.6m) Ras Al Khaimah-Sharjah water transmission project, which can carry 50 million gallons of water either way. Once operational, the project will have a final storage capacity of 100 million gallons.
The project will be implemented in two phases and will be completed in 18 to 32 months, with the pipeline operational in June 2017. Once deployed, it will provide continuous water supply to more than 1.5 million residents in Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah, working closely with the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) and the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (FEWA).
“The remarkable growth of population in Ras Al Khaimah, Umm Al Quwain, Ajman and Sharjah puts an increasing demand for water, both for consumption as well as industrial purposes,” said Richard Menezes, managing director at Utico.
“Once the project is completed, it will supply uninterrupted water to the residents and companies in the two regions.”
The water transmission project has been designed in an environmentally sustainable manner, focusing on water loss prevention. Solar power is also being used for transmission and storage recirculation. The project requires a total power of 10MW.
Utico is also investing AED719 million ($196m) in a water desalination project that it announced a few months ago. The company, called Al Hamra Water Company, is a joint venture with Spanish utilities leader Grupo Cobra. The plant, which will have a capacity of 22 million gallons, is being set up in Ras Al Khaimah. It will be fully operational in 2018.
In addition, Utico is also on course to set up a 40MW solar power plant, for which several bidders are vying for the IPP contract, Menezes noted. The company also intends to build over 100MIGD (million imperial gallons per day) of desalination capacity in the coming 6 years with 50MIGD operational in three years.
