France's Sidem and its parent firm, Veolia, will undertake the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the SR2.56bn ($682m) Hamriyah independent water producer (IWP) project in the UAE emirate of Sharjah.

Saudi-listed utility developer Acwa Power won the contract to develop and operate the Hamriyah seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) IWP, which will have a capacity of 90 million imperial gallons a day (MIGD), or about 400,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

It is the second EPC package to be won by Sidem and Veolia in the UAE this year. In May, Veolia announced winning a $320m contract to engineer and supply technology for the Hassyan seawater desalination plant in Dubai.

The water-purchase agreement signed by Acwa Power and Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority (Sewa) is for 30 years, with Acwa Power owning 45% of the project company, Hamriyah Developer Holding Company.

According to a statement from Acwa Power, the plant will generate nearly 272,000 cm/d of desalinated water by the second quarter of 2027.

When fully operating in the third quarter of 2028, the plant’s capacity will reach 410,000 cm/d of desalinated water, which equates to potable water sufficient for 1.4 million people.

MEED reported in January that Sewa received a single bid for the contract to develop the UAE northern emirate’s first IWP.

The state utility issued the request for qualifications for the contract in October 2022 and received responses the following month. It issued the request for proposals in April last year.

Sewa will procure the water produced from the plant under a long-term water-purchase agreement. It will also invest in the project company that will develop the project.

A 20 MIGD reverse osmosis plant already exists in Hamriyah. It is being upgraded by Metito, which won the contract in March 2022 to dismantle and replace the existing equipment and structure, renovate the SWRO system and implement additional membranes in eight skids.

Other UAE state utilities, Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Water & Electricity Company (Ewec) and Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa), are also expanding their water desalination capacity using reverse osmosis technology to boost the security of water supply as well as to promote energy efficiency.