The Krupp-Owned Buckau-Walther group has been commissioned by Abu Dhabi's Water and Electricity Department to supply a floating seawater desalination plant worth about 21-million Deutschemarks (about $10.5 million). It is one of the first units of this kind in the world, and the first commercial contract of this magnitude awarded to a German company in the face of international competition. The complete unit will be handed over in the spring of 1982.
The self-propelled seagoing barge, 60 meters (196.85 feet) long, 18.5 meters (60.69 feet) wide, and with minimal draft, employs two multi-flash seawater desalination units to produce a total of 2,500 cubic meters of drinking water per day. The barge has two 1,000-kw diesel generators for electricity required onboard. An emergency generator set, tanks for drinking water and diesel oil, workshop, laboratory, and accommodations for the crew of eight make up the remaining facilities. Separate pumps transfer the desalinated drinking water via floating pipeline to consumers on land-building sites and people living on the coast of Abu Dhabi.