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Budget Cut won’t Affect Power Plant Project

Around Dh13 billion has been slated for infrastructure developments this year, but it is not clear the same amount will be spent next year, said Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, Chief Executive of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA).

“The budget will have to be revised next year,” he said. “It might be down.”

DEWA has announced a Dh75 billion spending plan to improve infrastructure in the city, although the money will not be spent all at once.

Last week, the authority announced that it had delayed making a decision on awarding the contract for the Dh20 billion Hassyan mega power generation facility and water desalination plant in Jebel Ali.

The deadline for receiving bids will be September and officials will have three months to make a decision on who will build the facility, Al Tayer said.

Speaking to the Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Water Technologies, Energy and Environment Exhibition (WETEX) on Sunday, he said that the project was to be developed in six stages. “There will be a staggered development,” he said.

The facility when completed will be able to generate 9,000 megawatts per day. Each phase of the development will increase capacity by increments of 1,500 megawatts, Al Tayer said.

It is hoped that the plant will provide the lion’s share of the power behind Dubai World Central, Dubailand and Dubai Industrial City.

However, Al Tayer said that energy consumption was rising across Dubai. “In the first quarter we are already higher than the budgeted consumption.”

Last year, DEWA introduced a new tariff system to encourage energy saving. A recent survey found that bills had risen by 60 per cent for businesses and 30 per cent for residential customers.

Officials at the authority hope to increase energy generation by 500 megawatts this year by investing in energy efficiency technologies.

· martin@khaleejtimes.com