JEDDAH, 11 March 2003 — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, will today commission a major desalination project in Shuaiba, designed to supply 100 million gallons of water daily to Jeddah, Makkah and Taif.
The Shuaiba phase two project, which will increase the plant’s total capacity to 154 million gallons (582,689 cubic meters) and 500 megawatts of electricity, cost SR4.5 billion. It will double the quantity of water supplied to Makkah and Taif and raise the supply to Jeddah by 60 percent.
It is part of the Kingdom’s efforts to make its water supply match its rapidly growing water consumption. The plant is owned by the state-run Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC).
Water Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi has called for stringent measures to save the Kingdom from water shortage. He said a new water tariff will be introduced within two years to ensure prudent use of water for household, agricultural and industrial purposes.
The two phases of the Shuaiba plant involved the construction of water storage tanks, a pumping station, water transport pipelines the plant’s flash chambers and other processing facilities. Shuaiba is on the Red Sea, about 90 kilometers southeast of Jeddah. The plant therefore has access to ample supplies of seawater.
Saudi Arabia is now the world’s largest producer of desalinated water with 27 plants on the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, supplying drinking water to major urban and industrial centers through a network of water pipes of more than 3,680 kilometers.
Desalination meets 70 percent of the Kingdom’s drinking water needs, and several new desalination plants are under construction.
The Kingdom currently generates 3,600 megawatts of electric power from desalination plants.
