The Development and Investment Arm of Etihad Water and Electricity (EtihadWE) has signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement with NMDC Infra and Lantania Aguas for the Fujairah I Independent Water Producer (IWP) project.

The 60-million imperial gallons per day (MIGD) seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant has a total investment value of AED1.046 billion ($285 million).

The agreement was signed by Mohammed Al Shehhi, Chief Executive Officer of the EtihadWE Development and Investment Arm; Haris Giatsos, Chief Executive Officer of NMDC Infra; and Pedro Almagro, Chief Executive Officer of Lantania Aguas. It was witnessed by Yousif Ahmed Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer of EtihadWE and Chairman of the development company, and Dr Yasser Zaghloul, Group Chief Executive Officer of NMDC Group, at the Make It In the Emirates exhibition, said a WAM news agency report.

The Fujairah I IWP project is the second project being procured by EtihadWE in partnership with the private sector under the PPP model, following Naqa’a IWP, which has a capacity of 150 MIGD.

The plant will be located within the Port of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, with access to key maritime and land infrastructure. It will have a contracted production capacity of 60 MIGD of desalinated water and will be supported by storage capacity equivalent to 18 hours of production.

Once operational, the plant will provide a dependable supply of desalinated water to support households, businesses and strategic industries in Fujairah and across EtihadWE’s service areas, particularly during periods of peak demand. The project will strengthen the resilience of essential water infrastructure and support continuity of supply.

The project is expected to be delivered over approximately 30 months, covering civil works, process systems and commissioning. Initial operations are expected to begin at partial capacity, followed by full production of 60 MIGD upon completion.