JEDDAH, 31 August 2005 — Six new desalination plants will be established in Wajh, Amlaj, Rabigh, Laith, Qunfuda and Fursan at a total cost of SR820 million, it was announced yesterday. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has given the go-ahead to carry out the projects to supply drinking water to the country’s growing population.
“The total value of the contracts for implementing the six desalination plants will reach SR709.13 million,” said Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah Al-Hussayen, who is also chairman of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), which currently runs 30 desalination plants on the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf coasts.
The project also includes construction of two water storage tanks in Fursan and pipelines related to the plants, the Saudi Press Agency said, quoting the minister. “People in Laith, Qunfuda, Thuwal, Qadheema and Mastura will get desalinated water for the first time when the new plants start production,” he said.
Each new plants in Wajh, Amlaj, Laith, Qunfuda and Fursan will supply 9,000 cubic meters of water daily. The Rabigh plant, with a daily production capacity of 20,000 cubic meters, will supply water to the neighboring townships of Thuwal, Qadheema and Mastura. The new projects will also increase the daily capacity of existing plants in Wajh, Amlaj and Fursan to 11,330, 12,784 and 10,505 cubic meters respectively.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest desalination water producer with a daily output of more than 600 million gallons. In 2004 alone, the Kingdom’s 30 plants supplied over one billion cubic meters of water and 22,000 million megawatt/hour electricity.
The Water and Electricity Ministry has set out a strategy to privatize water and sewage projects in the Kingdom within the next five years. Desalination plants meet 70 percent of the country’s drinking water requirement. According to the Central Statistics Department, the Kingdom’s total population will exceed 29 million by 2010 and rise to 36.4 million 10 years later. Taking a baseline consumption of 300 liters per person per day, the resulting demand for water will increase to over 3,000 million cubic meters annually by 2010 and nearly 4,000 million cubic meters by 2020.
