ACWA Emirates has won a £20 million (36.6 million) contract for construction of sewage treatment plant at Dubai’s Al-Maktoum International Airport, which aims to become the world’s biggest airport.

It is a subsidiary of ACWA Services based in Skipton, North Yorkshire in the UK. The company, has already completed the first phase of a £65 million contract to bring high-quality drinking water to Palm Island, one of the world's largest man-made islands with fresh water.

Peter Ripley, ACWA managing director, said: “We are involved in quite a few exciting projects at the moment.”

He said the scheme to create two identical sea water desalination plants on Palm Island was the biggest project undertaken by the company since it set up offices in Dubai in 2004.

Sometimes referred to as the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’, the island is the first in a line of similar developments established to dramatically increase Dubai’s shoreline and create a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment areas.

The first desalination plant is now complete and the second should be finished next year. Together, they will be capable of producing up to 64,000 cubic metres of high-quality drinking water a day by removing salt from sea water.

Ripley said: “Bearing in mind the state of the sea water, I am more than delighted with the very high quality of the treated water and the overall reliability of the treatment plant.”

In the initial stages of production, the plant will provide water for large numbers of site workers at construction camps set up for building the island’s infrastructure, hotels and leisure facilities. ACWA Emirates was awarded the contract by Palm Water, the utility company for the development.

He said the Dubai segment of the company was now becoming the largest part of the business, accounting for up to 80 per cent of turnover.