HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdulla bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani inaugurating the $504 mn A2 as HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada looks on.

By Ayman Adly/Staff Reporter

The water desalination capacity in Qatar has gone up by 36mn gallons per day with HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdulla bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani inaugurating the $504mn Ras Abu Fontas plant A2 (RAF A2) yesterday.

The event also marked a paradigm shift in the field of water desalination in the country as he laid the corner stone of 36mn-gallons-per-day $500mn Ras Abu Fontas plant (A3), the first to use the energy-efficient reverse osmosis method.

The inauguration ceremony, held in the Abu Fontas area, was attended by HE the Minister of Energy and Industry Dr Mohamed bin Saleh al-Sada, Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC) managing director Fahad Hamad al-Muhannadi, Mitsubishi Corporation deputy executive vice president Hiroshi Sakuma and other senior officials.

“QEWC currently produces 328mn gallons of high-quality desalinated water a day and this would reach 350mn gallons a day during 2018 after the operation of the Um Al Houl plant,” al-Muhannadi said on the occasion.

The current production of electricity amounts to more than 8,600mw and this will go up to 11,000mw by the first half of 2018, he said.

“Both RAF A2 and A3 are products of co-operation between Kahramaa and QEWC and part of the country's strategic plan regarding water and electricity supplies,” said Dr al-Sada.

“QEWC has a plan to increase the supply of electricity and desalinated water through the Um Al Houl plant, which is considered the largest in the region with a production capacity of 24,000 megawatt of electricity and 130mn gallons of water a day,”

The contract for the construction of RAF A2, located 10km away from Doha, was signed in January 2013 with local financing from QNB, Barwa Bank and Qatar Islamic Bank..

The plant operates by the evaporation multi-stage desalination method.

RAF A3 is set to be implemented by three international companies: Mitsubishi, Japan; Acciona, Spain; and TCL, Thailand. The first stage of the project is scheduled to be completed by September 2016.

Al-Muhannadi pointed out that reverse osmosis technology, proven over three decades, costs 40% less than thermal desalination stations. The water returned to the sea has no thermal impact to the sea water and such a plant can be operated without using a gas turbine.

Sakuma recalled that when he joined Mitsubishi in 1980, the first project he was in charge was the Ras Abu Fontas power project.

“I still cherish the moments spent in Ras Abu Fontas 35 years ago with Fahad al-Muhannadi who was my counterpart,” he added.