Palm Jumeirah crescent, Dubai

What is it? The first of a pair of seawater reverse osmosis desalination plants in the Palm Jumeirah resort, which will have a combined capacity of 64,000m3/d.

Who is responsible? ACWA Emirates was the EPC contractor, using energy recovery from Calder and UF membranes from Norit X-Flow. The developer is Palm Water, which worked with consultants Mott MacDonald on the design.

Why is it shortlisted?

• Combining ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, the design has proven itself to be robust against tough environmental conditions. Ongoing construction activities and high salinity levels of up to 48,000 ppm mean the quality of the feedwater is very poor.

• Using UF pretreatment membranes for seawater desalination on a large scale in the Middle East was a significant technological breakthrough, and has enormous potential for future seawater projects in the region.

• ACWA Emirates took the project on at a late stage, using another company's designs, a pretreatment system which was untried commercially in the Gulf and in challenging construction conditions, yet delivered a resounding success.