Veolia Water to construct desalination plant at Sadara petrochemical complex in Saudi Arabia

Saudi water and electricity operator Marafiq has awarded Veolia Water a contract to design, build and operate a desalination plant at the Sadara petrochemical complex in Jubail industrial city.

The new plant will have a capacity of 178,000m³ per day and will supply the Sadara petrochemical complex, which has been jointly built by Dow Chemical and Saudi Aramco.

Veolia Water will generate $310m in revenue to design and build the plant and $92m to operate it for 10 years. The company then has an option to extend the contract for an additional 20 years.

Veolia Water CEO Jean-Michel Herrewyn said: "Veolia Water’s unique expertise and technology were the deciding factors in meeting the requirements of these exacting clients Marafiq, Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical."

Through its subsidiary Sidem, Veolia Water will design the plant to carry out the processes of ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis.

The various processes used at the plant will secure water supply, reduce the risk of plant failure, extend its lifespan, and lessen site’s energy requirements, costs and impact on the environment.

Dow Chemical and Aramco will produce solvents and glues for the automotive and packaging industries at the facility, while the water supplied from the desalination plant will be used in the facility’s two cooling towers and as boiler feed water.

Sadara petrochemical complex is set to begin operations in June 2015.

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Image: Map showing the location of new desalination plant at the Sadara petrochemical complex in Jubail City, Saudi Arabia. Photo: Courtesy of Veolia Water.