RIYADH: The National Water Company (NWC) will call on investors to participate in its various sewage projects in the Kingdom under its privatization program, Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah Al-Hussayen said here yesterday.
While announcing Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s approval for the privatization program of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) and the NWC, the minister said that the NWC would call on investors for the development of groundwater resources, sewage network and sewage treatment plants in the Kingdom from private sector companies.
He said the king had issued the approval as the chairman of the Supreme Economic Council.
The NWC was set up early this year with a capital of SR22 billion. It is fully owned by the government and will cover all parts of the Kingdom in three years.
“The company will receive all its dues, including charges for its services in the specified time from all subscribers without exception,” he added.
The minister, who is also the chairman of SWCC, pointed out that saline water conversion and sewage services are two important areas for consumers. He hoped that privatization program of the government will not only enhance quality of the government’s services but it will also minimize the cost of the consumers in getting the required services. Al-Hussayen explained that the projects will be carried out in phases and it would initially launched in the capital in Al-Kharj sewage plant and in Jeddah. Subsequently, it will be extended to Dammam and Alkhobar and Madinah.
SWCC Gov. Fehied ibn Fahd Alshariff said, following a detailed study submitted by his organization, that the government has taken an encouraging step to delegate the corporation’s projects to the private sector to reap better results. Under its privatization program, the SWCC will be become a holding company and distribute its various projects to private sector companies that could not only continue operations but could also set up a separate plant to replace the ageing plants.
The Kingdom is the biggest desalinated water producer in the world.
