JEDDAH: The experimental operation of the Shuaiba-3 desalination plant on the Red Sea began yesterday. The plant, which has a daily capacity of 194 million gallons, will solve water shortage in Makkah, Jeddah and Taif.
Omar Falihan, executive director of the company that was formed to implement the project, said the plant would start normal production on Nov. 15 and beef up the Makkah water network during the Haj season.
Shuaiba-3, the first independent water and power project (IWPP) in the Kingdom, was launched in 2005 when an SR9.1-billion contract was signed with a consortium of Saudi and Malaysian companies. It will also produce 900 megawatts of electricity.
The government has a 40 percent stake in the Shuaiba Water and Electricity Company; the remaining shares are owned by the private sector. The plant will start full-scale commercial production by the end of 2009.
Also yesterday, Fehied Al-Shareef, governor of Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), launched the Kingdom’s first floating desalination plant in Shuaiba. The plant, which was built by Bawarij International, will supply more than 50,000 cubic meters of water daily to Jeddah’s residential districts.
Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah Al-Hussayen said the Kingdom would require more than $200 billion in investment for desalination and power generation projects during the next 15 years to meet the needs of its growing population and its developing economy.
Al-Hussayen said five Saudi cities consume about 60 percent of the country’s water resources and emphasized the need to reduce per capita water consumption, which exceeds 270 liters. He said his ministry had allocated SR800 million to stop the leakage of water from the network. The Kingdom loses 300,000 cubic meters of water daily as a result of leakages.
The minister also emphasized the need to rationalize consumption of electricity.
