JEDDAH, 27 September 2006 — Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah Al-Hussayen yesterday announced plans to pump 50,000 cubic meters of water from strategic reserves to solve Jeddah’s water crisis within two days.

The announcement comes after the metropolitan city’s water crisis reached its peak with thousands of people gathering at the water distribution center in Aziziya to buy water-truck deliveries after regular pipeline supply stopped weeks ago.

Al-Hussayen also disclosed plans to establish a new desalination plant in Jeddah. The new plant would replace the existing one that has exceeded its estimated lifespan.

Desalination plants in Shuaiba, located 110 km south of Jeddah on the Red Sea coast, pump water to Jeddah. Contracts have been signed to establish a new plant, Shuaiba-3, which will supply 194 million gallons of water daily to Jeddah, Makkah, Taif and Baha.

“When the new plant in Shuaiba becomes operational in two years the water crisis in Jeddah will be solved once and for all,” he explained. The men and women who thronged the distribution center lost their cool on Monday after staying in the queue for several hours as they engaged in a fistfight that forced authorities to call police.

Ramadan is a peak season for domestic water consumption as families spend more time at home. A rise in demand for water leads to water cuts in many parts of the city, leaving residents scrambling to obtain a water truck from somewhere in order to fill the tanks in their buildings.

Some people had called on the king to intervene in order to solve the problem.

“We are calling on King Abdullah to fix this major problem,” said Mohammed Al-Olayan, a resident of Al-Basateen District. He said he was standing in the queue for more than 10 hours to get a tanker.

According to local press reports more than 15 residential districts in Jeddah have been without water for over a month, sending many of the residents to the black market were — for a premium fee — they could have water delivered to their cisterns.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water. But the demand for water is increasing day by day as a result of growing population. According to Al-Hussayen, the Kingdom will require nearly SR350 billion in investment for water and sewage projects during the next 20 years.

The ministry launched a drive to privatize desalination plants in November 2005 by awarding an SR9.1 billion contract to a consortium of Saudi and Malaysian companies which will set up the Shuaiba-3 plant. Another giant dual-purpose Independent Water and Power Plant (IWPP) will be established in Jubail shortly at a cost of SR11 billion.

The Supreme Economic Council, a mini Cabinet chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, has approved four IWPPs (Shuaiba-3, Shuqaiq-2, Ras Al-Zour, and Jubail-3), which will be carried out by the private sector on a BOT basis. The four projects will boost the total desalination capacity of the Kingdom by 80 percent.