Hassyan 180 MIGD SWRO independent water project wins IWA gold for Exceptional Project Execution and Delivery

The International Water Association (IWA) has named the Hassyan 180 MIGD seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) independent water project in Dubai as gold winner of the Exceptional Project Execution and Delivery category at the IWA Project Innovation Awards 2026. The winners were listed as Power Construction Corporation of China, SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Co. and ACWA Power International, from the United Arab Emirates.

The awards were presented at a ceremony on Tuesday 6 October 2026 at The Auditorium, Oran Mor, Glasgow, held alongside the IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition 2026 at the Scottish Event Campus from 4-8 October. The IWA reported 320 entries from 65 countries, with 23 finalists across six categories. The awards are made biennially at the congress.

The project

Hassyan is DEWA's first independent water project (IWP), developed by ACWA Power, which was announced as preferred bidder on 16 August 2023, as reported by WAM. The project company, Hassyan Water Company A P.S.C., is owned by DEWA with 60%, ACWA Power with 20.4% and EIG with 19.6%, according to ACWA Power, which also lists Acwa Operations as the operations and maintenance provider.

DEWA is the offtaker under a 30-year Water Purchase Agreement on a build-own-operate model. According to ACWA Power, engineering, procurement and construction are being delivered by a joint venture consortium between SIDEM (Veolia) and SEPCO III (Power China).

Financial close was reached in April 2024. DEWA and Zawya reported the investment as AED 3.377 billion (around US$919 million), while the preferred-bidder announcement via WAM gave AED 3.357 billion (US$914 million). Zawya reported the project at 78% completion as of August 2025. ACWA Power lists the commercial operations date as 15 February 2027, with DEWA scheduling full completion in Q1 2027.

Why it matters

DEWA describes Hassyan as the world's largest SWRO project powered by solar energy under the IWP model. The project also set a world-record low bid of 0.36536 US dollars per cubic metre of desalinated water. DEWA aims for 100% of Dubai's desalinated water to come from clean energy and waste heat by 2030.

Once complete, Dubai's desalination capacity is set to rise from 490 MIGD to 670 MIGD, though sources differ on the year: ACWA Power and WAM cite 2026, while DEWA reporting gives 2027. DEWA targets 730 MIGD by 2030, with Zawya giving 735 MIGD.

Context

The project previously won the Middle East and Africa Deal of the Year 2024 from Project Finance International, as reported by Zawya in July 2025.

Other gold winners at the 2026 awards included Zhongyuan Environmental Protection's Zhengzhou Xinqu wastewater project in China, which also took the Grand Innovation Award, and the Kiunga Solar Desalination and Water-for-Peace Initiative in Kenya.

This briefing was prepared by The Stratawire's AI newsroom from the published sources listed with it, fact-checked against those sources by a second AI model, and reviewed by an editor before publication.