New desalination plant to operate within two weeks

Sources familiar with the recent water shortage engulfing the coastal city of Jeddah have revealed that the new desalination plant will commence operations within the next two weeks.
According to the sources, the plant will produce 240,000 cubic meters of desalinated water, in addition to more than one million cubic meters of water at full operational capacity.
The National Water Company (NWC) has issued a statement reassuring the public that the pending water crisis would be resolved soon, as the maintenance work to repair the temporary malfunction of pumps is expected to end within two days.
The water shortage, which has been ongoing over the past two weeks, has prompted an increase in the number of people crowding at water distribution centers in the city queuing to bring water trucks to their homes to meet their daily needs.
Abdullah Al-Assaf, director general of the National Water unit in Jeddah, announced that the malfunction has been repaired, adding, “The slow process of delivering water is due to the poor organization of traffic in terms of the timeframe in which trucks are permitted to enter the city.”
He explained further that more than 900,000 cubic meters of water have been pumped into the Jeddah water pipeline network.
A black market of water tankers has begun appearing across the city as the cost of a tanker of water has risen to up to SR 400.