Veolia Announces Desalination Contracts Worth About €200 Million, With Combined Capacity of 490,000 Cubic Metres a Day
Key Facts
Veolia announced on November 4, 2026, two desalination project contracts in the UAE and Oman, with a total value of about €200 million and combined capacity of 490,000 cubic metres a day, according to a company statement. The UAE project covers the design and supply of technology for the Al Hamriyah plant, while the Oman contract includes operating an existing plant and improving its performance. Veolia said the agreements strengthen its presence and capabilities in the Middle East, which it described as one of the key markets for its desalination ambitions. The difference in scope between the two projects combines the delivery of a new facility with the management of existing operating assets. The contracts come as the company seeks to increase the capacity it manages globally in the sector.
In Sharjah, Veolia will provide the design and technology for the Al Hamriyah plant, which is planned to have capacity of 410,000 cubic metres a day when complete. The company says this volume is enough to supply about 1.4 million people with drinking water. That makes Al Hamriyah the larger share of the capacity announced across the two contracts, accounting for most of the combined 490,000 cubic metres a day. The pretreatment and remineralisation system includes dissolved air flotation, dual-media pressure filters and limestone filters. The plant is designed to consume 2.75 kilowatt-hours per cubic metre of water produced, according to Veolia.
In Oman, Veolia said it had secured a five-year contract to operate the Al Atheba desalination plant and improve its operational performance. The plant has stated capacity of 80,000 cubic metres a day and serves 200,000 people, according to the company statement. The agreement therefore differs from the Al Hamriyah project, focusing on operating and improving the efficiency of an existing facility rather than designing a new plant and supplying its technology. The company plans to use its Smart Connectors and Hubgrade digital solutions to monitor equipment and improve performance and electricity consumption. The plant is equipped with a solar farm to diversify its energy mix, according to Veolia.
Veolia placed the announcement within a broader effort to expand its desalination business. Chief Executive Estelle Brachlianoff said the company aims to double the capacity it operates globally by 2030 to 1.4 million cubic metres a day. The company already has a presence in Oman; it says its technologies have been used to build 18% of global installed desalination capacity. It also operates four large plants in the sultanate that supply water to about 2.5 million people, according to its data. These figures provide context for the new Al Atheba contract, which adds to the company’s operating activity in the Omani market. A Veolia statement described the Middle East as one of the key markets for its desalination ambitions.
The announcement coincided with 2.6% organic growth in Veolia’s water technologies business in the first nine months of 2026, according to Reuters. The news agency said improved orders and a recovery in project activity in the Middle East partly offset earlier delays, while the regional recovery remained incomplete. At group level, Veolia reported revenue of €33.31 billion in the same period, up 2.6% excluding the impact of energy prices, while EBITDA reached about €5.404 billion, with organic growth of 5.1%. The company had reported EBITDA of €5.080 billion and organic growth of 5.4% in the first nine months of 2025. The chief executive said third-quarter 2026 revenue rose 5%, driven particularly by international performance and water activities, and the company reaffirmed its guidance for the year and its GreenUp trajectory.
For the Al Hamriyah plant, Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority expects production to begin at about 272,000 cubic metres a day in the second quarter of 2027, before reaching full capacity of 410,000 cubic metres a day in the third quarter of 2028. These dates provide a timeline for the UAE project’s production ramp-up, with output expected to reach the planned level after initial operations begin. The project is part of Veolia’s regional strategy: in December 2024, the company said it was targeting 50% growth in its Middle East activities by 2030, after regional sales of €1.1 billion in 2023. The company links its current desalination ambition to expanding operating capacity globally to 1.4 million cubic metres a day by 2030. The contracts statement did not specify how the total value was divided between the two projects, describing it as about €200 million.