The Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (Adwea) has announced a $1.2-billion project to build the world’s largest water desalination plant in the UAE emirate, with operations set to begin in October 2021, a media report said.

According to Adwea, the project will be built in the Al Taweelah Power Complex, 45 km north of Abu Dhabi, and produce 200 million gallons of water per day using reverse osmosis technology, reported Emirates news agency Wam.

Plans call for the development, financing, construction, operation, maintenance and ownership of the plant.

Adwea invited alliances and developers to express their interest in participating in this project, according to the independent product model applied by the authority within the privatisation programme, in partnership with the private sector. Under this programme, Adwea seeks to own a 60 per cent stake in the project, while the private sector developer will own 40 per cent.

"This project is in line with the leadership's vision for a comprehensive development, in which Adwea will play a vital role by setting up water and electricity infrastructure projects across the UAE," said Abdullah Ali Musleh Al Ahbabi, chairman of Adwea’s board of directors.

He added that the power sector is the second largest sector in Abu Dhabi after oil and gas, with a total capacity of 16,922 megawatts per day and 960 million gallons of fresh water per day.