In 1972, the crew aboard Apollo 17 photographed the Earth at 45,000 kilometres from its surface. The planet came out looking like a big blue marble. The photographs showed water covering two-thirds of its surface. Despite all of that water, 97% of it is undrinkable.

In fact, a recent report by the World Bank estimates 2.4 billion people do not have access to potable water. Where water is available, however, consumption is expected to grow by 30% during the next 25 years. The answer to this critical situation is nevertheless found in this very resource, which can understandably be called blue gold.

Webuild’s subsidiary, Fisia Italimpianti, a specialist in water desalination plants, built one big enough to guarantee the supply of potable water to 25 million people. A drop in the ocean? On the contrary: a welcome wave for cities like Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, whose demographic boom relies on the Jebel Ali M (see photo).

This massive plant produces not only potable water but also electricity. It has a production capacity of 2,2 billion liters per day, most of which comes from five stations built by Fisia Italimpianti. This means “the highest standards of availability, reliability, efficiency, and quality”, says the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority.