RIYADH, 3 March 2008 — As part of an ambitious plan to modernize the Kingdom’s increasingly overstretched water infrastructure and to ensure supply, Minister of Water and Electricity Abdullah Al-Hussayen signed a SR1.4 billion contract with a leading joint-venture Saudi-Turkish company to lay a pipeline system that will be used to transport potable water produced at a desalination plant to growing urban areas in the Eastern Province such as Dammam, Alkhobar, Jubail, Ras Tanura and Safwa.
Addressing a press conference after signing the contract, Al-Hussayen said that the contract was awarded to a Saudi-Turkish venture, representing the Turkey-based Yuksel Holding and Yuksel Insaat A.S., as well as Riyadh-based Yuksel Saudia Company Ltd. Yuksel Holding Chairman Suleyman Servet Sazak, Yuksel Saudia Chairman Faisal Al-Sadoun and Yuksel Insaat A.S. CEO Emin Sazak signed the contact on behalf of Yuksel partners.
The signing ceremony was also attended by a number of senior Saudi officials, Turkish executives and local newsmen, including Feheid F. Alshareef, governor of Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), A. Kurtulus Kocdag, Yuksel Saudia general manager; and Murat Bugday, Yuksel Saudia’s assistant general manager. The SWCC is the client and the project will be completed within 29 months from the signing date.
Referring to the water transmission project awarded to Yuksel, Al-Hussayen said “this new Water Transmission System will transport potable water produced at the New Marafiq Desalination Plant, located within the industrial city of Jubail.” “The award of this project symbolizes our efforts to solve the problems of water supply in Saudi Arabia, especially in the Eastern Province,” said the minister, while referring to the new SR22 billion water company, which will be set up soon.
The minister also gave an overview of the water projects currently being implemented in Saudi Arabia. He pointed out that the water demand of Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Taif would be adequately covered within three years despite the fact that a greater cost component is involved in implementing water projects. He, however, denied that water tariff would be raised in the near future. He pointed out that any such move would depend on the outcome of a ministry’s sponsored study, which is currently underway.
Spelling out the salient features of the project, Emin Sazak, Yuksel Inssat CEO, said, “the project also includes the upgrade of the existing Hofuf Water Transmission System, which supplies water to Abqaiq and Hofuf from the Alkhobar desalination plant.” “This project reflects our business ties with the Kingdom, where we have been working for the last 25 years,” said Emin, adding that the design capacity of the pipeline is 500,000 cubic meters per day. The total length of the pipeline will be 133.77 km.
“The commissioning of this project will benefit a large population in the Eastern Province by improving the supply of potable water, which in turn will give a boost to the local and national economy and elevate the living standard of the people, reflecting the efforts and the vision of the government of Saudi Arabia,” said Emin, while referring to Yuksel’s substantial presence in the Gulf region.
“Yuksel had the high-tech capability and international standards to implement such water transportation projects in any part of the world...Currently, Yuksel is executing some prestigious projects including three dam projects in the Kingdom,” said Emin, adding that Yuksel is all set to win more job orders especially now after the arrival of the new General Manager A. Kurtulus Kocdag.
Asked about the major strengths of the company, Emin said that Yuksel has demonstrated a unique combination of experience and professional qualification, while doing a number of projects for public and private sectors. “While performing such projects over the years, Yuksel has won the trust of the Saudi government and private sector besides forging closer cooperation with local and international companies specialized in various fields,” he said.
He said that Yuksel won the confidence of local clients, which was evident from the fact that it has undertaken projects worth about SR2.5 billion in the past. In the context of water transmission and water management, it is important to mention that Yuksel has executed two major projects, which have substantially reduced water shortage problems in the recent past. These projects include the Yanbu-Madinah Water Transmission System, and the Riyadh-Qassim Water Transmission System.
Established in 1963, Yuksel is one of the largest Turkish construction companies with a substantial presence in the Middle East and central Asian regions besides other parts of the world. Yuksel started its operations in Saudi Arabia way back in 1983. After signing the first contract, a Saudi-Turkish owned local company was established with the name of Yuksel Insaat Saudia Co., which is now growing from strength to strength.