Veolia has secured two desalination contracts in the Middle East worth nearly €200 million in total, with a combined capacity of 490,000 m³ per day. The Veolia desalination contracts are a five-year operations and performance optimisation contract for the Al Asilah plant in Oman and a design contract for the Al Hamriyah plant in the United Arab Emirates. Veolia will also provide the technology for Al Hamriyah.
Veolia works across water and water technologies, waste and local energy services and has 215,000 employees on five continents. The company said the Middle East is one of the key markets driving its desalination ambitions. It has worked in the region for more than 30 years.
Al Hamriyah plant targets 2.75 kWh per cubic metre
In the UAE, Veolia is designing the Al Hamriyah desalination plant. The plant will have a capacity of 410,000 m³ per day and will supply drinking water to approximately 1.4 million people.
Veolia’s pretreatment and remineralisation technologies will be used at the plant. These include dissolved air flotation, dual-media pressure filters and limestone filters. According to the company, this combination will allow the plant to achieve energy consumption of 2.75 kWh per cubic metre of water produced. Veolia describes this as a record and a new benchmark for energy efficiency in large-scale desalination.
Veolia’s other projects in the UAE include Hassyan in Dubai, Mirfa 2 in Abu Dhabi, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah. H2O Global News has previously reported on Veolia’s water technology contract for the Hassyan seawater desalination plant in Dubai.
Five-year operations contract for Al Asilah in Oman
In Oman, Veolia has been awarded a five-year contract to operate the Al Asilah desalination plant and optimise its operational performance. The plant has a capacity of 80,000 m³ per day and supplies water to 200,000 inhabitants. It is equipped with a solar farm to diversify its energy mix.
Veolia said the plant’s electricity consumption will be further optimised through its Smart Connectors and Hubgrade digital solutions, which are intended to improve equipment monitoring and performance.
Veolia currently operates four large-scale desalination plants in Oman. These include the nearby Sur plant, which is also equipped with the latest technologies. The company said its plants in the country provide drinking water to nearly 2.5 million inhabitants.
Veolia desalination contracts and the 2030 capacity goal
Veolia says 18% of the world’s installed desalination capacity has been built using its technologies. The company said it intends to further strengthen this position and its operated desalination capacity of 1.4 million m³ per day by 2030.
Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia, said: “Desalination is one of the cornerstones of water security in the Middle East. The dozens of desalination plants equipped with Veolia technologies currently operating in the region illustrate how cutting-edge innovation, local expertise, and a diversified energy mix enable us to provide efficient, competitively priced drinking water production services. With these contracts, we continue to strengthen our long-term strategic partnership in the region and pursue our goal of doubling the desalination capacity we operate worldwide by 2030.”
Lower energy use and costs in desalination
Veolia has worked in desalination for more than 50 years. The company said advances in the sector have reduced the energy needed for desalination by 80% since the 1980s and cut the cost of producing one cubic metre of water by 90%.
The company points to AI-enabled reverse osmosis systems as one area of recent progress in plant performance. It also cites work to reduce the environmental footprint of desalination plants through lower chemical consumption, improved brine dispersion and the use of decarbonised electricity.
Across the global desalination market, Veolia reports a treatment capacity of approximately 13 million m³ of water per day at more than 2,300 sites in 108 countries. Its main reference projects include the Hassyan (2024) and Mirfa 2 (2023) plants in the UAE, the Sydney desalination plant in Australia (2007) and the Sur plant in Oman, which was built in 2007 and extended in 2014.
Frequently asked questions
What desalination contracts has Veolia won in the Middle East?
Veolia has won a five-year operations and performance optimisation contract for the Al Asilah desalination plant in Oman and a design contract for the Al Hamriyah desalination plant in the United Arab Emirates. Together the contracts are worth nearly €200 million.
How much water will the Al Hamriyah desalination plant produce?
The Al Hamriyah plant will have a capacity of 410,000 m³ per day and will supply drinking water to approximately 1.4 million people.
How energy efficient will the Al Hamriyah plant be?
Veolia said the plant will achieve energy consumption of 2.75 kWh per cubic metre of water produced, using its pretreatment and remineralisation technologies, including dissolved air flotation, dual-media pressure filters and limestone filters.
What is the capacity of the Al Asilah desalination plant in Oman?
The Al Asilah plant has a capacity of 80,000 m³ per day, supplies water to 200,000 inhabitants and is equipped with a solar farm.
