Dubai: Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, the largest developer of solar cells in the GCC, announced on Sunday its first foray in to water services, such as desalination and wastewater treatment, with the establishment of Almar Water Solutions.
Capitalising on growing concerns over water scarcity, particularly in the Gulf region, the company is seeking to diversify itself further in to the business of renewables.
“Our shareholders have always been very interested in us pursuing water,” Roberto de Diego Arozamena, Chief Executive Officer of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy told Gulf News, adding “and this is an extension of the move towards environmental services that began in 2012.”
Almar Water Solutions will construct and operate water desalination and purification treatment plants across the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, working with municipal and industrial clients.
“The Middle East, where 70 per cent of the world’s desalination capacity is located, is our priority,” said Carlos Cosin, Chief Executive Officer of Almar Water Solutions.
Currently, the company has a pipeline of 23 water infrastructure projects it is investigating for viability, across nine countries, amounting to $7 billion.
“We are in this for the long-term. We are not simply trying to IPO. Either projects make sense financially and timewise, or we don’t do them,” Arozamena said.
The company will also seek to capitalise on public-private partnership (PPP) opportunities to finance its projects. He also added that the PPP model was preferable as there was a technical barrier between developers and financial institutions, most of which still did not have the capabilities to fund a complex water infrastructure project.
Cosin said that Almar Water Solutions was focusing on the countries with the most appealing legal framework for water infrastructure using PPP financing.
The establishment of Almar Water Solutions adds to Abdul Latif Jameel Energy’s growing renewable energy and environmental services portfolio, building on the acquisition of Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) in 2015. FRV has expanded over recent years, and is now the largest GCC-based solar cell provider.
Carlos Cosin told Gulf News that there would be a great deal of overlap in the markets most aggressively pursued by Almar Water Solutions, and those already occupied by FRV, to create synergies.
The announcement comes days after His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the UAE’s strategy for the next three decades.
The UAE’s Energy Plan 2050 aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 70 per cent, increase clean energy by 50 per cent and improve energy efficiency by 40 per cent.
The CEO of parent company Abdul Latif Jameel Energy noted that the water company had already been qualified for the Federal Electricity and Water Authority (FEWA) in the UAE and King Abdullah Economic City, in Saudi Arabia.
“Almar Water Solutions will be profitable in two years’ time,” Arozamena added.
