Saudi Arabia Awards $149m Water Contract

Saudi Arabia has awarded a SAR559m ($149m) contract to carry out water and sanitation projects in the country.

The contract includes studying water resources in the Empty Quarter, which lies in the southern desert region, and building water-collection centres and a water-purification plant.

The projects include water pipelines in the province of Asir, drinking-water purification and sanitation networks in Qassim, water-leaking detection and reservoirs in Madinah, drinking-water purification in the province of Riyadh and water pipelines in the Eastern province.

Saudi Arabia requires SAR124.9bn ($33.2bn) in desalination and water-recycling plants to meet demand, according to Bloomberg.