Taweelah RO IWP (Al Taweelah Independent Water Plant)
Taweelah, Abu Dhabi · United Arab Emirates
The Al Taweelah IWP is, at design capacity, the largest seawater reverse osmosis plant in operation, producing up to 909,200 m³/day for Abu Dhabi under a 30-year agreement with EWEC. Construction was phased: the first block reached operations in mid-2022 and full commercial operation was certified in March 2024.
- Design Capacity
- 909,200 m³/day (200 MIGD)
- Project Value
- USD 874 million
- Status
- Operation
- Announced
- 2019
- Expected Completion
- 2024
- Client / Offtaker
- Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) — 30-year water purchase contract
- Technology
- Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) with on-site solar PV
- Country
- United Arab Emirates
- Region
- Taweelah, Abu Dhabi
- Last Verified
- 2024-03-18
Why This Project Matters
Al Taweelah is a landmark for SWRO at utility scale. It demonstrates that membrane desalination can economically replace thermal distillation as the default bulk-water mode in the Gulf, and pairs the process with a 70 MWp captive solar array so desalinated water can be produced with a substantially lower carbon footprint than legacy thermal plants.
Timeline
-
Water purchase agreement signed
EWEC and the project company sign a 30-year water purchase agreement for the plant.
-
First phase in operation
First block reaches 454,600 m³/day (50% of design capacity), connected to the Abu Dhabi network.
-
Full commercial operation
Final phase certified; the facility reaches 909,200 m³/day, becoming the world’s largest operating RO plant.
Verification & Sources
EngiMetric tracks project facts against public sources only. Every value above (capacity, value, parties, status, dates) is cited. Content last verified on 2024-03-18.