A water treatment company in Skipton is playing a key role in massive construction projects in the United Arab Emirates.

A subsidiary of ACWA Services has already completed the first phase of a £65 million contract to bring high-quality drinking water to Palm Island, a spectacular man-made island off the coast of Dubai.

Now ACWA Emirates LLC has won a £20 million contract to provide the sewage treatment plant for Dubai’s Al-Maktoum International Airport, which aims to become the world’s biggest airport.

Peter Ripley, managing director for ACWA, said: “We are involved in quite a few exciting projects at the moment.”

He said the scheme to create two identical sea water desalination plants on Palm Island was the biggest project undertaken by the company since it set up offices in Dubai four and a half years ago.

Sometimes referred to as the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’, the island is the first in a line of similar developments established to dramatically increase Dubai’s shoreline and create a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment areas.

The first desalination plant is now complete and the second should be finished next year. Together, they will be capable of producing up to 64,000 cubic metres of high-quality drinking water a day by removing salt from sea water.

Mr Ripley said: “Bearing in mind the state of the sea water, I am more than delighted with the very high quality of the treated water and the overall reliability of the treatment plant.”

In the initial stages of production, the plant will provide water for large numbers of site workers at construction camps set up for building the island’s infrastructure, hotels and leisure facilities. ACWA Emirates was awarded the contract by Palm Water, the utility company for the development.

Mr Ripley said the company’s order book this year was the biggest it had ever been, with an annual turnover of more than £40 million.

He said the Dubai segment of the company was now becoming the largest part of the business, accounting for up to 80 per cent of turnover.

Mr Ripley said: “We have also got the contract for the treatment plant at the new airport, which is going to be the biggest airport in the world. This time, it’s sewage rather than water.”