GS E&C Subsidiary Wins KRW 920 Billion UAE Seawater Desalination Project

GS Engineering & Construction announced on the 11th that its subsidiary GS Inima has won the Shuweihat 4 seawater desalination project, valued at approximately KRW 920 billion, commissioned by the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (UAE).

UAE Shuweighat 4 Seawater Desalination Project Rendering. [Image provided by GS Engineering & Construction]

This contract award is the first tangible result following the water resource cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Korean government and the UAE in January this year. GS Engineering & Construction explained that support from government agencies such as the Ministry of Environment and the Export-Import Bank of Korea was provided in various ways.

The Shuweihat 4 seawater desalination project is located about 250 km west of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. It involves adding a seawater desalination facility with a capacity of approximately 320,000 cubic meters per day to the existing desalination plant complex.

The project is structured as a BOO (Build-Own-Operate) project, where GS Inima is responsible for project financing and EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction). After completion, GS Inima and TAQA (Abu Dhabi National Energy Company) will jointly own and operate the facility for 30 years.

The EPC contract amount is approximately KRW 420 billion, and the operating revenue over 30 years after completion is expected to be about KRW 500 billion, resulting in a total contract value recognition of approximately KRW 920 billion. GS Inima was selected as the preferred bidder for this project in December last year. Financial agreements are expected to be finalized within this year to commence EPC, with commercial operations scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2026.

GS Inima is a wholly owned subsidiary of GS Engineering & Construction and has grown into a core new business since its acquisition in 2012. Since the acquisition, GS Inima has expanded its market to five continents?Europe, North Africa, Latin America, the United States, and, since 2019, the Oceania region excluding Brazil’s industrial water market in 2019, Oman in 2020, and Vietnam in 2022?diversifying its business portfolio and emerging as a global leader in the water treatment industry.

In particular, GS Inima has further solidified its position in the Middle East, the world’s largest seawater desalination market, by securing orders for the Oman Barka Phase 5 seawater desalination facility currently under construction, the Al Ghubrah Phase 3 seawater desalination facility, and now the UAE Shuweihat 4 project.

A GS Engineering & Construction official stated, “The water treatment business is a future growth engine for GS Engineering & Construction and a representative eco-friendly business in the ESG era. Through winning the UAE seawater desalination project, we will strengthen our status as a global leader in the global seawater desalination market.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.