The Hatta Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant project is located near the community of Hatta in the Hajar Mountains, 140 km southeast of the city of Dubai.

The plant will use water stored in an upper reservoir at the Hatta Dam, utilizing pumped storage technology with solar-powered pumps at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park.

The project was awarded to a consortium, including STRABAG Dubai LLC and STRABAG AG, Austria’s Andritz Hydro, and Ozkar, an Oman-based construction company. France’s EDF is consulting on the project.

It will comprise a turbine shaft with a diameter of approximately 36m and a depth of almost 70m, for the placement of two turbines with a total expected power output of 250MW. In addition, a 1.2km long pressure tunnel and two road tunnels with a length of approximately 470m and 440m are to be excavated.

Dextra was involved in the excavation of the hydro tunnels by supplying thousands of GEOTEC™ steel bolts, including Self-Drilling Rock-Bolt, soil nails and combination bolts, diameter 22 to 32mm, for rock mass and slope stabilization.

Dextra GEOTEC™ steel bolt systems are available for every ground condition in various applications such as roadways, hydro power and underground oil/gas storage, sub-sea, and sewer tunnels.

The project is scheduled to be commissioned in early 2024.

It is part of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 program, which has a goal of providing 75% of Dubai’s total power generation from clean energy sources by 2050.