Cox

Coxabengoa Group begins commercial operation of the complete Taweelah desalination plant in Abu Dhabi

  • Coxabengoa Group’s water division, Abengoa Water transfers the completed plant to the customer, after announcing the entry into commercial operation of Taweelah phase two in April 2023, and phase one in June 2022.
  • The Taweelah plant has successfully passed rigorous final performance tests, marking the start of commercial operation of the full plant (phase one + phase two) at full production, a crucial step prior to delivery to the customer. For a continuous period of 30 days, the plant has been operating without interruption, with full availability of its 200 MIGD and always serving the demand of the population through the system operator.
  • It is the largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in the world in operation (909,218 m3/day), and stands out for its exceptional energy efficiency, with specific consumption lower than expected.
  • It is the first reverse osmosis desalination plant in the Emirate to combine the production of drinking water with the generation of clean energy thanks to a photovoltaic solar field of more than 70 MWp of power.

 

The water division of the Coxabengoa Group, Abengoa Water, has successfully completed the final tests of the commercial operation phase of the complete Taweelah desalination plant (phase one + phase two), the largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in the world, located in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), with a production of 909,218 m3/day. For 30 consecutive days the plant has passed the final performance tests, demonstrating its capacity by desalinating 204 MIGD in a single day, exceeding the planned capacity by 2%. Upon successful completion of the final contractual tests, the plant has been handed over to the client, the project company called “Taweelah RO Desalination Company LLC”, formed by the Emirati companies TAQA and Mubadala; as well as ACWA Power, also acting as Promoter in this contract, a leading company in the development, investment, ownership and operation of power generation and desalinated water production plants.

The Taweelah desalination plant produces a total of 909,218 m3/day, making it the world’s largest reverse osmosis desalination plant in production. Taweelah guarantees supply to the city of Abu Dhabi (approximately four and a half million people) throughout the year. It is also the emirate’s first large-scale plant to combine the production of drinking water with the generation of clean energy, thanks to the installation of a photovoltaic solar field with a capacity of more than 70 MWp. This solar field, in turn, gives Taweelah the possibility of becoming self-sufficient in a sustainable manner and reducing its dependence on fossil fuels. This project, located on the coast of the Persian Gulf, is part of the plan developed by the government of the United Arab Emirates to encourage private participation in the development of the country’s infrastructures.

Abengoa Water’s scope of work for the Taweelah project included design, engineering, supply of the main equipment, supervision of assembly, commissioning of the reverse osmosis and post-treatment systems, advice on the pre-treatment processes carried out by third parties and operation of the plant until handover to the client. All in all, the Taweelah desalination plant meets each one of the drinking water parameters required by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, including hardness, alkalinity, LSI (Langelier Saturation Index), SDI (Silt density Index), pH and boron content.

Coxabengoa Group’s desalination portfolio

The Coxabengoa Group has once again demonstrated its capacity to develop complex projects from a technical point of view, and to adapt to adverse working conditions in very diverse countries, providing an optimum response to the client’s requirements. It has also consolidated its position as a leading company in the desalination sector worldwide, and strengthened its presence in the Middle East, where it has a very extensive portfolio: in Saudi Arabia, Rabigh III (600,000 m3/day) and Shuaibah III (250,000 m3/day), all completed; Dubal (47,750 m3/day), in the United Arab Emirates, in operation; and Salalah (114,000 m3/day), in Oman, also completed.

Taweelah, Desalination Plant of the Year 2023

The Taweelah desalination plant has been recognized as the desalination plant of the year 2023 at the Global Water Awards, organized annually by the prestigious water industry publication Global Water Intelligence (GWI). Taweelah represents a historic step towards the decarbonization of the emirate’s desalination system, as recognized by the organization, thanks to the use of a solar photovoltaic plant to supply more than 30 % of its energy, reducing Abu Dhabi’s carbon footprint by 2.5 million tons of CO2 per year, marking the beginning of a new era of sustainable desalination.

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The multinational achieves, thanks to its proven experience in water resources management, its first award in the country

Luis Arizaga Zárate

Independent Director

Member of the Audit Committee

Date of appointment: September 17, 2024

Shareholding in Cox Abg Group, S.A.: 11,514 shares

Partner of Exus Management Partners (Exus) and GenuX Power, a global renewable energy platform with offices in nine countries, managing 11GW of installed capacity, including 2.6GW in Mexico between wind and solar energy projects. Holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at NYU in New York, and a bachelors degree in Accounting and Finance from ITESM in Mexico.

Prior to joining EXUS in 2019, he founded EIRA Capital, an investment platform focused on Energy and Infrastructure transactions in Mexico, and Latin America. He was also part of Australia’s Macquarie Group in Latin America, where he spent more than 7 years in the Macquarie Capital and Macquarie Funds divisions, working on fund capital raising, equity investments, asset management activities, as well as third party advisory roles on energy and infrastructure transactions in Mexico and Latin America. During his years at Macquarie, he also held board positions in the several investments made by Macquarie which covered energy, public private partnerships, roads, and telecom companies. In addition, his previous involvement at financial institutions include positions in the investment banking teams of Deutsche Bank’s M&A group in New York, and Citibank’s M&A group in Mexico.

Other former relevant positions include his role as independent member of the investment committee of the Instituto del Fondo Nacional de la Vivienda para los Trabajadores (Mexican mortgages and housing government agency).

Enrique Riquelme Vives

Presidente Ejecutivo

Fecha de nombramiento: 17 de septiembre de 2024

Participación en el capital social de Cox Abg Group, S.A.: 50.601.230 acciones

Presidente Ejecutivo de Cox, tras iniciar su andadura profesional en el sector inmobiliario y de la construcción, en 2010 fundó Grupo El Sol en Panamá, especializado en operaciones de minería, cemento, infraestructuras y energía. Con el tiempo, la empresa se convertiría en el mayor proveedor de arena de la UTE responsable de la ampliación del canal de Panamá. Posteriormente, pasó a liderar las fases de oferta y desarrollo de Rainbow 50: el proyecto fotovoltaico de mayor envergadura ejecutado en América Latina hasta aquel momento.

Ha recibido varios galardones por su contribución al mundo empresarial en España, entre ellos el Premio del Certamen Nacional de Jóvenes Emprendedores 2018. También ha sido distinguido como uno de los «100 latinos más influyentes comprometidos con la acción climática» y uno de los «100 españoles más creativos del mundo de los negocios» según la revista Forbes. Actualmente, es miembro del Consejo Internacional de la San Telmo Business School y preside el Consejo Asesor de la Fundación Scholas para Panamá, Centroamérica y Caribe.