Dubai’s Water Bet: Desalination Meets Clean Energy

A new plant uses cleaner technology and private capital to reshape water production in the Gulf

19 Mar 2025

On the arid shores of the Arabian Gulf, Dubai is making waves with a desalination plant that does more than turn seawater into drinking water. The AED 3.38bn ($920m) Hassyan project, now over halfway complete, exemplifies a new breed of infrastructure: green, efficient, and profitable.

Instead of relying on the conventional, energy-intensive method of thermal desalination, Hassyan uses seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO), a less thirsty technology. This aligns with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority’s (DEWA) plan to produce all desalinated water using clean energy by 2030. That target is not just rhetorical. The shift marks a departure from a long-standing Gulf reliance on oil-powered evaporation plants.

But technology is only part of the story. Hassyan is structured under an independent water producer (IWP) model, a public-private partnership that has enticed investors such as Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and Belgium’s BESIX. Their backing suggests that Gulf infrastructure, long the province of state monopolies, is maturing into a market open to climate-conscious capital. “Projects like Hassyan show the world that large-scale desalination can be both sustainable and economically viable,” said a senior executive at ACWA Power.

The implications ripple beyond Dubai. From Kuwait to Oman, Gulf states are scrambling to meet surging demand and worsening drought. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 also leans heavily on SWRO as part of its national water strategy. Yet hurdles remain. Renewable energy fluctuates; water demand does not. And decades-old infrastructure is ill-suited to nimble upgrades.

Still, momentum is building. What was once an engineering challenge is now an investment thesis. Hassyan proves that clean water can flow from a combination of clever finance and carbon-light design. Policymakers would do well to note: in the Gulf, the path to sustainability may run through a desalination plant.