Dubai Electricity & Water Authority |Italian Deputy Prime Minister visits DEWA and reviews its leading projects

HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), received a high-level Italian delegation headed by HE Luigi Di Maio, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Labour. The delegation included HE Manlio Di Stefano, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; HE Liborio Stellino, Ambassador of Italy to the UAE; and representatives of the Italian Trade Agency, the General Confederation of Italian Industry, and financial institutions.

DEWA’s officials who attended the meeting included Waleed Salman, Executive Vice President of Business Development & Excellence; Dr Yousef Al Akraf, Executive Vice President of Business Support and Human Resources; Marwan Bin Haidar, Executive Vice President of Innovation and the Future; Khawla Al Mehairi, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Government Communications; and Abdulnasser Abbas, Senior Director of Treasury.

Al Tayer welcomed the Deputy Prime Minister and visiting delegation, emphasising the importance of the Italian-Emirati relationship which is based on peace, dialogue, cooperation, and openness. Al Tayer affirmed that the UAE and Italy have built an important trade partnership, and reviewed their historical relationship which dates back to the 1970s.

During the meeting, the two parties discussed strengthening cooperation between DEWA and Italian companies in energy and water projects in Dubai and the UAE. They also discussed strategic cooperation between DEWA and Italian organisations and companies in the water and energy sectors, particularly in the production, transmission, distribution, renewable energy, energy efficiency projects, digital transformation, and automation.

Al Tayer presented DEWA’s key projects, initiatives, and programmes that support the vision and directives of the wise leadership to anticipate and shape the future. He emphasised that DEWA’s strategy is in line with the UAE Centennial 2071, the UAE Vision 2021, and the Dubai Plan 2021 to ensure a sustainable and happy future and make the UAE number one in all fields.

Al Tayer noted that DEWA currently has an installed capacity of 11,100 megawatts (MW) of electricity and 470 million gallons of water per day. This supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 launched by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to provide 75% of Dubai's total power output from clean energy sources by 2050. To achieve this, DEWA launched several renewable programmes and initiatives, including the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar park in the world based on the Independent Power Producer (IPP) model, with a production capacity of 5,000MW by 2030 and investments totalling AED 50 billion. Upon completion, the solar park will reduce over 6.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually and provide thousands of jobs in clean energy and green economy.

Al Tayer said that DEWA has adopted the IPP model to promote public-private partnerships. Through this model, DEWA achieved the lowest international prices, stressing that DEWA is implementing the Demand Side Management Strategy (DSM) to reduce power and water consumption by 30% by 2030. DEWA, through Etihad Energy Services Company (Etihad ESCO), is retrofitting more than 30,000 existing buildings in Dubai to ensure energy efficiency.

Discussions between the two sides focused on enhancing Italy’s participation in the 21st Water, Energy, Technology, and Environment Exhibition (WETEX 2019), held under the umbrella of the 6th Green Week, and the participation of Italian universities in the Solar Decathlon Middle East (SDME).

The Italian delegation expressed interest in participating in DEWA’s leading clean and renewable energy projects. The Italian Deputy Prime Minister commended DEWA for its efforts in achieving sustainable development in Dubai, stressing the importance of sharing best global experiences and practices in the fields of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.