RIYADH: Saudi Arabia plans to build nine desalination plants for more than 2 billion riyals ($530 million) on the Red Sea coast, its environment minister said on Sunday.
The plants will have capacity of 240,000 cubic meters of water per day and will be completed in less than 18 months, Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli wrote in a Twitter post.
The project, which the minister said was ordered by King Salman in a royal decree, will help government-owned Saudi Saline Water Conversion Corp. (SWCC) raise production efficiency and cut operating and capital costs, Fadhli added.
He gave no details on funding.
Saudi Arabia said in 2016 it planned to use public-private partnerships (PPP) with local and foreign companies to fund infrastructure projects.
In August, it said it would develop resorts on about 50 Red Sea islands, completing the first phase of that project — which is backed by its Public Investment Fund (PIF) — in the fourth quarter of 2022.
($1=3.75 Saudi riyals)
Saudi Arabia to build 9 desalination plants on Red Sea
Saudi Arabia to build 9 desalination plants on Red Sea
Saudi scientific organization celebrates 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate Omar Yaghi
- King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology honors him with a reception at its headquarters in Riyadh
- Yaghi, the first Saudi recipient of a Nobel Prize, shared the Nobel Prize with 2 other scientists for their pioneering work in molecular chemistry
LONDON: King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Riyadh honored Omar Yaghi, the Saudi scientist and recipient of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, with a reception at its headquarters in Riyadh on Thursday.
Yaghi is the first Saudi scientist awarded a Nobel Prize. He received it in December, alongside two other scientists, for their pioneering work in the field of molecular chemistry, and for contributions to energy, the environment and advanced materials.
He is also supervisor of the Center of Excellence for Nanomaterials for Clean Energy Applications, a collaboration between KACST and the University of California, Berkeley.
Munir Eldesouki, the president of KACST, said that the Kingdom is keen to recognize its scientific talents, in keeping with Saudi Vision 2030 and its goals relating to the fostering of scientific research.
Yaghi said he appreciated the support he had received from Saudi leaders during his career, and praised them for creating an enabling environment in which scientists are able to pursue world-class research, development and innovation.
Investment in national talent has created a research ecosystem that positions Saudi Arabia among the leading scientific nations, he added.
Thursday’s event, attended by the organization’s staff and students, also honored the winning teams from the recent “GenAI for Materials Discovery Hackathon,” which KACST organized in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, and Academy 32, a nonprofit Saudi organization dedicated to research, development and innovation.
The celebration concluded with an interactive discussion session during which Yaghi talked with students and researchers, reflected on key milestones in his scientific journey, and shared insights into the factors that helped shape his career, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
