RIYADH: Saudi Water Partnership Co. is currently working on 11 projects worth SR35 billion ($9.3 billion), scheduled for completion by the beginning of 2023, according to its CEO.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Desalination International Conference, SWPC CEO Khaled Alqureshi told Arab News that the company has 33 projects in the pipeline, of which 11 are in the development for market submission.
He added that these projects include an independent water and power project, an independent sewage treatment project, a transmission project and a strategic water reservoir project. The tendering process for these projects has begun.
The company is presently constructing two water transmission pipelines in the Makkah province: Ras Mohaisan and Rabigh-4. While the Ras Mohaisan project will have a capacity of 300,000 cubic meters per day, Rabigh-4 will hold 600,000 cmpd.
According to a company statement, the last date for submitting the bids for Rabigh-4 is Sept. 18.
Some firms pre-qualified for the bid are ACWA Power, Spain’s Acciona Agua and Ajlan & Brothers Energy Co. consortium and Spain’s Cobra Instalaciones y Servicios.
The others include Japan’s Marubeni Corp., a consortium between France’s Veolia Middle East and the UAE’s Utico, Saudi Arabia’s Mowah Co. and Chinese Railway Construction Corp.
Alqureshi said other projects on the way are Ras Mohaisen IWP and Al-Juranah ISWR and Al-Haer ISTP.
The development also speaks volumes about the increasing support of the Public Investment Fund in the sector. The sovereign fund successfully contributed to SWPC’s first three IWPP projects in the Kingdom.
“Saudi ministries and the National Water Co. are collaborating on a program to optimize water losses and reduce them at different stages of transmission and distribution,” said Alqureshi while explaining the collective endeavor.
With the organic growth of the Kingdom and several ambitious programs available, SWPC is improving the water consumption requirements, the mandate and building more capacity.
“We are also shutting down non-renewable groundwater to build more assets to produce water,” added Alqureshi.
The company has taken great strides in lowering tariffs on seawater desalination to 40 cents, and Alqureshi is confident that it will continue to drop further.
The SWPC also tenders plants, water desalination purification projects, sewage water treatment and co-generation for the private sector.
In 2003, Saline Water Conversion Corp. and Saudi Electricity Co. each owned 50 percent of the SWPC, and its purpose was to purchase water and electricity from private projects and sell them to SWCC and SEC. However, the Ministry of Finance now owns SWPC with a capital of SR100 million.
