Abu Dhabi likely to require $2bn investment for desalination projects

Depleting groundwater resources and increasing demands in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, necessitates around $2bn investment to strengthen its desalination capacity.

Research conducted by the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) has indicated that groundwater resources in the region are likely to be exhausted within the next 50 years.

Abu Dhabi National Energy Company business development and projects head Alejandro Jimenez was quoted by Khaleej Times as saying: "The GCC has the world’s largest installed capacity of water desalination – 35 per cent, and the UAE alone has 12 per cent.

"Given the demand growth, soon there will be a big gap to fill, which will require significant investments, which today were announced at 450 million imperial gallons per day [MIGD] for the next five years, which would mean around $2 billion"

According to EAD adviser for water resources Mohamed Dawoud, groundwater withdrawal in the UAE capital exceeds the natural recharge rate by almost 23 times.

Dawoud was quoted by The National as saying: "We need to give it time to replenish, we need it to become of better quality, and we need more information."

Using treated or recycled water can be one of the ways to meet the regional water requirements, the other alternative being sustainable desalination.

Discussions for the water crisis issues in the region were carried out by the authorities at the International Water Summit conference on 19 January as a part of the ongoing Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week.

EAD has also launched an inventory project in Abu Dhabi to track groundwater wells used for agriculture, forestry, entertainment and any other purpose in the region, reports official UAE news agency WAM.