AED 6.3million Dubai reservoir contracts awarded as water consumption expected to rise

Two contracts have been awarded for major reservoir works in Dubai as the country prepares for a significant increase in water consumption.

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has awarded a consultancy contract worth AED 6.3 million to design and construct two water reservoirs in Al Nakhli with a storage capacity of 120 million gallons, and in Al Lusaily with a storage capacity of 60 million gallons.

The work is designed to increase the storage capacity of Dubai to 1,010 million gallons.

“There’s no indication of the water consumption slowing down,” says Jay Andres, Chief Executive Officer at Mai Dubai Bottled Water in an exclusive interview with Business Review Middle East.

“When I started in water bottling, I’d say water was fifth or sixth in a metric called share of stomach. Now water in most parts of the world is in 1st position. Its passed coffee, milk and soda.”

DEWA has reported that the country is anticipating a huge increase in the consumption of water across the region.

As Dubai Expo 2020 nears, daily consumption is estimated to reach 412 million gallons.

Andres also believes that there is a shift in the culture, with more and more people looking for healthy alternatives to coffee, soda and other beverages.

“As obesity and health concerns become more prevalent, people are looking for ore healthier alternatives."

Read our full feature on Mai Dubai in the September issue of Business Review Middle East.

The reservoir project supports DEWA’s strategy to implement vital projects, “especially infrastructure, and upgrade the efficiency of water and electricity networks, to meet the growing demand for these services.

“This project implements our strategy to provide a reserve water supply that will meets Dubai's expected daily consumption of about 412 million gallons per day in 2020, and supports our efforts to strengthen water pipelines and increase water flow to meet the rapid growth of water in various part of Dubai,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA.

Related stories:

$97 trillion of infrastructure investment needed by 2040, report finds

Land prices in Dubai increase as World Expo moves closer

New road and rail causeway will be built, linking Saudi Arabia and Bahrain

“The project includes the design of the reservoirs according to the latest standards of sustainability, and the supervision of the implementation of the project at the two sites. The construction and operation of both reservoirs is expected to be complete within 32 months. DEWA’s total storage capacity will increase to 1,010 million gallons, compared to the current capacity of 830 million gallons,” noted Al Tayer.