Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has announced the completion of the M-Station expansion project  in Jebel Ali, the largest power generation and water desalination plant in the UAE, at a total investment of Dh11.7 billion ($3.18 billion) in co-ordination with German technology major Siemens.

It was inaugurated by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Minister of Finance, and President of Dewa, in the presence of senior Dewa officials including its managing director and chief executive officer Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer.

Before the extension, M-Station was generating 2,185 MW of electricity from six Siemens F-model gas turbines, each with a capacity of 255 MW, six Doosan waste-heat recovery boilers for steam generation, three Alstom steam turbines with a capacity of 218 MW each.

The scope of work included construction of 16 fuel-oil storage tanks, each with a capacity of 20,000 cu m and totalling 320,000 cu m of fuel-oil storage. The station generated 140 million gallons per day (mgpd) from eight Fisia desalination units, deploying Multi-Stage Flash (MSF) distillation technology, each with a capacity of 17.5 mgpd and two dual-fuel-fired auxiliary boilers, said the statement from Dewa.

The expansion project comprises two dual-fuel gas turbine generators each with a capacity of 263.5 MW, two waste-heat recovery boilers for steam generation and a back pressure steam turbine from Siemens with capacity of 173 MW, it added.

Speaking at the opening, Al Tayer said the M-Station now boasts a production capacity of 2,885 MW and 140 million gallons of desalinated water per day.

The project expansion, which cost Dh1.53 billion, has added new generating units with a capacity of 700 MW. The extension design has a 90 per cent fuel efficiency rate, stated Al Tayer.

Al Tayer, thanking Dewa’s partners, especially Siemens, which implemented the project and Mott MacDonald, the project consultant, said: "This project has been completed with over 20 million safe man hours without lost time injury."

Dietmar Siersdorfer, CEO, Siemens Middle East and UAE, said: "The completion of the Jebel Ali M-Station expansion marks another milestone in the long history of Siemens and Dewa as strategic partners."

"It’s a testament to what we can achieve with innovation and technology to support society and economic growth in the UAE," he stated.

The expansion’s design increased the plant’s fuel efficiency to 85.8 per cent, which is one of the highest rates worldwide, said Al Tayer.

With this addition, Dewa’s total production capacity is currently 11,100 MW of electricity and 470 mgpd of water production, he added.-TradeArabia News Service