Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, through its subsidiary Sidem (VWS-Sidem), the thermal desalination specialist, has been selected to build a new desalination plant in the Emirate of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. The plant will be located in Qidfa and will produce 590,000 m³/day of desalinated water to meet growing demand and strengthen the region's development potential. Veolia Water's share of the contract represents $805 million (€ 596 million) of revenues over the duration of the project.

The desalination plant will be linked to a 2,000 MW power plant, for which Alstom will be in charge of the engineering, construction and equipment supply. The project is headed by a consortium set up by the public authority Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) in collaboration with International Power Plc. and Marubeni Corp.

The originality of the desalination project lies in the combination of the two main technologies that will be used: Multiple Effect Distillation (MED) and reverse osmosis. This hybrid solution has been developed exclusively by Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies subsidiaries SIDEM and OTV. The innovative combination will allow optimal use of the electricity generated by the power plant, especially during the winter months.

The facilities to be put in place by the Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies subsidiaries will include 12 MED desalination units, each with a production capacity of 38,500 m³/day, and a reverse osmosis desalination unit with a production capacity of 128,000 m³/day. Commissioning of the new plant is scheduled for summer 2010.

"We are very pleased to be involved in this new project which, coming just a few weeks after the Marafiq contract in Saudi Arabia, strengthens our already solid presence in this region. The consortium's decision to opt for hybrid desalination shows that Veolia Water has the capability to invent and implement the most innovative solutions and technologies available in this field,” said Antoine Frérot, Chief Executive Officer of Veolia Water.

SIDEM, a subsidiary of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies, is one of the world leaders in thermal seawater desalination. Present in Saudi Arabia since the 1970s, the company now boasts 73 desalination facilities in the region. Its most recent contracts include Marafiq, Saudi Arabia (800,000 m³/day), Al Hidd, Bahrain (270,000 m³/day), Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia (267,000 m³/day), and Al Taweelah A1, UAE (240,000 m³/day).