Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, also known as TAQA, and French multinational utility firm Engie, have signed an agreement with Emirates Water and Electricity Company for the development of a desalination facility in the UAE capital.

The Mirfa 2 Reverse Osmosis (M2 RO) Independent Water Project, which is expected to produce 120 million gallons of water per day, has recently been awarded to TAQA and Engie, with the UAE firm taking the majority share in the project and holding a stake in the operations and maintenance.

Following the award, the two firms signed the water purchase agreement (WPA) with EWEC, according to a statement on Monday.

With its capacity, the water facility is expected to meet the requirements of up to 210,000 households in Abu Dhabi.

“We look forward to this strategic collaboration with TAQA and ENGIE, which will see the development of the UAE’s third-largest low-carbon intensive RO water desalination plant,” said Othman Al Ali, CEO of EWEC.

“[The project] enables EWEC to further accelerate its strategic initiative of decoupling water desalination operations from power generation and implement… actions that contribute to the achievement of UAE Water Security Strategy 2036 and the UAE Net Zero by 2050 [targets].”