RIYADH, 26 August 2007 — As part of its efforts to mitigate the water-supply and sewage problem in Jeddah, the Ministry of Water and Electricity has invited the second quotation for private contracts for water supply and sewage under the Public Private Participation (PPP) system. The contract will include the supervision of management, operation, maintenance of water and sewage systems.
It also includes the management and development of client services, revenue collection and reduction of leakages in networks in addition to the development, training and rehabilitation of the existing staff to upgrade performance.
Earlier, the ministry shortlisted seven international consortiums qualified to participate in the bid from a total of 84 local and international firms that had applied. The ministry will provide the prequalified companies with all the technical and administrative details required for the submission of international quotations in November. The negotiations and formalities of contracts are expected to be completed in January next year, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday.
In a statement in March, Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Hussayen attributed the city’s water shortage to the rapidly growing population and the depletion of the Khalees and Wadi Fatima aquifers from 35,000 to 5,000 cubic meters as a result of a decrease in rainfall.
The minister hoped, then, that Jeddah’s water problem would end with the commissioning of the third desalination plant in Shuaiba on the Red Sea, which will have the capacity to supply 1.3 million cubic meters of water.
The plant is expected to supply about 194 million gallons of water daily as well as 900 megawatts of electricity daily when it is ready by the end of next year. It would also increase the per capita water share in the city to 350 liters daily.
The Kingdom signed a SR9.1-billion contract in November 2005 with a consortium of Saudi and Malaysian companies to set up Shuaiba-3 desalination plant, the first independent water and power project (IWPP) in the country.
