Saudi Arabia Plans to Sell Desalination Plants

Saudi Arabia’s state-owned water utility Saline Water Conversion is seeking government approval to sell off 30 desalination plants.

It is part of the utility’s plan, begun in 2005, to secure additional investment to meet rising demand for water and improve water resources management.

Reports suggest that the country, which receives scant rainfall, requires about SAR124.9bn ($33bn) in investments in desalination and water recycling plants.

The water company produced about 1.01 billion cubic metres of water in 2009 and is currently implementing SAR42bn ($11bn) worth of projects.

The country is planning to tender a SAR18bn ($4.79bn) water project in Yanbu for setting up of a water plant and a pipeline, according to Bloomberg.