RIYADH: The volume of foreign investments in the field of chemicals at the Saudi Water Authority has reached about SR1 billion ($266.4 million), the authority’s Deputy Governor for Strategic Companies and Local Content, Mohammed Al-Sheikh, told Al-Eqtisadiah.
Al-Sheikh added, during an introductory meeting for the Innovation in Water Sustainability Conference, that the water sector aims to localize more than 18 strategic commodities in the coming phase, noting that the next step will be localizing the manufacturing of specialized chemical materials in the water sector through three factories in the northern, eastern, and western regions.
These will include chemical washing materials and anti-scalant materials, with a plan to export these products.
He explained that the localization journey reached an important milestone in mid-November with the opening of the Toray Middle East factory, a Saudi-Japanese joint venture that achieved self-sufficiency in membranes used in desalination processes and has the capability to export 50 percent of total production.
The deputy governor noted that these materials do not serve the water sector alone, but are also used in the energy, irrigation, and oil and gas sectors.
Jeddah is hosting the fourth edition of the Innovation in Water Sustainability Conference, organized by the Saudi Water Authority from Dec. 8 to 10, with broad participation including more than 169 speakers and about 7,300 participants expected from 133 countries, among them the US, China, Singapore, the UK, Canada, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Brazil, Portugal, Italy, and a number of Gulf and Arab countries, in the largest international gathering of water innovation leaders.
Al-Sheikh revealed that the anticipated volume of investments in the chemical manufacturing industry exceeds SR1 billion, noting that its impact is not limited to the economic dimension but extends to strengthening the resilience of supply chains and ensuring the sustainability of the water sector’s operations in Saudi Arabia.
He said that localization efforts are progressing sequentially, as the localization of reverse osmosis membranes has been completed, while initiatives to localize chemical materials will be announced soon, followed by work to localize key equipment such as pumps, motors, energy recovery devices, and other vital equipment for the water sector.
Regarding investment volume, Al-Sheikh explained that the Toray project saw direct investments exceeding SR700 million, while total Saudi-Japanese investment in the project surpassed SR1.1 billion.
As for foreign investments in the field of chemicals, they amount to about SR1 billion.
He affirmed that the scale of investments in localization processes highlights the attractiveness of the sector and investor confidence, noting that the approach adopted by the authority—based on long-term purchase agreements and guaranteeing full local manufacturing—has achieved a balanced equation between investor interest and the sector’s strategy, where the investor obtains a stable investment opportunity and a safe profit margin, while the water sector ensures the localization of goods and knowledge and the building of national capabilities.
