Sheikh Diab bin Zayed Al Nahyan, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea), has won Meed's debut Arabian Energy & Water Industry Leadership Award.

The award will be presented at Meed’s Arabian Power & Water Summit (APWS) taking place fromMarch 29 to 31 in Abu Dhabi.

The event will address the challenge of ensuring the countries of the GCC have sustainable long-term capacity to deliver electricity, water and water reuse services.

The Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea) has, for more than a decade, transformed the way large electricity and water desalination facilities are financed, developed and operated.

After adopting a clear and concise privatisation strategy, Adwea has led the creation of Independent Water and Power Producers (IWPP) where partnership agreements are made between Adwea and a number of international companies to establish the IWPP, whereas Adwea holds a 60 per cent share of these, and 40 per cent ownership is held by the foreign investor. Through its privatization program, Adwea succeeded inbringing in Dh65 billion of foreign investments into electricity and water projects in the emirate.  

“Adwea has significantly worked through the last decade to increase production from 200 million gallons water per day in 1999 to reach to more than 823 million gallons water per day, and from producing 3,000 MW to more than 13,000 MW electricity, which makes Abu Dhabi the only city in the region that does not face any shortage in water and electricity production,” said a spokesperson from Adwea. 

Meed added that Sheikh Diab bin Zayed Al Nahyan has been central to the progress of power and water developments in Abu Dhabi.-TradeArabia News Service