JEDDAH: Massive industrialization plans in Saudi Arabia coupled with a rapidly growing population have led to phenomenal growth in the power and water industry in the country. Stemming from the growing synergy between power generation and desalination and opening the sector to private investment, Marafiq has launched its Independent Water and Power Plant Project (IWPP) in Jubail and Yanbu, paving the way for the continued growth of the industrial sector and the national economy.
“The IWPP project in Jubail has already moved from the drawing board to the construction stage and work is progressing as per schedule,” Marafiq President and CEO Thamer Al-Sharhan told Arab News yesterday. For the IWPP Yanbu, the company has already released the request for proposals and expects encouraging response, he said on the sidelines of the two-day Saudi Water and Power Forum, which ended at the Jeddah Hilton yesterday. The forum, which also combined an international exhibition in which Marafiq was among dozens of participants, was themed ‘change, innovation and sustainable development’.
Al-Sharhan said both the IWPP projects would contribute to the growth of the industrial cities of Jubail and Yanbu, and the diversification of the national economy, “demonstrating Marafiq’s contribution to the Kingdom’s national objectives.”
The Jubail IWPP project is developed with a dynamic synergy between international developers and local partnerships, which will service the needs of both Jubail Industrial City and the Eastern Province.
Marafiq Group, through its special-purpose vehicle company, signed the IWPP project agreement with the developer, the Suez Group Consortium (SGC), in January 2007. Marafiq selected the developer from competitive bids received from three bidder-developer consortium giants.
The SGC comprises Suez Energy International of Belgium, Gulf Investment Corporation in Kuwait and ACWA Power Projects in Saudi Arabia. “This partnership by Marafiq will achieve synergy and pooling of international expertise with local talents and also contribute to the co-development and growth of other local and regional companies in the Gulf area,” he added.
“The tariff secured for the project is competitive and compares well with other regional IWPP tariffs. This guarantees the project’s commercial success,” he said.
The project comprises the development of a power generation and water desalination facility in Jubail Industrial City on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis, with an operating period of 20 years by the project company, which is a joint venture formed and owned by Marafiq, holding a 30 percent investment, and Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) of the Ministry of Finance each holding five percent. The SGC holds the remaining investment of 60 percent. “It reflects Marafiq’s efforts to promote international investment in the privatization of the power and water industry in Saudi Arabia,” Al-Sharhan said. On successful commissioning of the plant, the Jubail IWPP will be the world’s largest power and desalination project of its kind, he added.
