Abu Dhabi has invited offers from at least 20 international firms to build a water desalination and power plant, an official said

'We have just launched the competitive process to select a developer for the Shuweihat S2 (project) ... We have asked international companies to submit expressions of interest by July 24,' Zaal Al Hammeri of Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) said.

The S2 plant will have a capacity of 1,600 MW of power and 100 million gallons per day (mgpd) of water, he said.

He did specify the value of the project.

The companies invited include Britain's International Power, General Electric and Tokyo Electric Power and Marubeni. Reuters