Saudi Arabia has annnounced more than 60 water projects, worth SR35 billion ($9.33 billion), that will cement the kingdom’s position as the world’s largest water desalination market, a top official told delegates at the 3rd Mena Desalination Projects Forum 2022 being held in Abu Dhabi.

Once completed, these projects will increase the desalination capacity to 7.5 million cu m of water per day by 2027, from 2.54 cu m per day in 2021 – nearly tripling the capacity in just six years.

Saudi Arabia’s National Water Strategy published in 2018, adopted a sustainable approach to the water sector, committing to safeguarding the natural resources and the environment of the Kingdom and providing cost-effective supply and high-quality services

"Saudi Arabia has been increasing its investment in clean energy, power and water. In the water sector, we have integrated the desalination and wastewater treatment and have been expanding our capacities across the industry," stated Engineer Khaled Al Qureshi, the CEO of Saudi Water Partnership Company, in his keynote address.

Al Qureshi pointed out that SWPC had been increasing the number of water projects over the last few years.

In 2020, it had approved 11 Independent Water Projects (IWPs) and 9 Independent Sewage Treatment Projects (ISTPs), while last year it gave nod to 8 IWPPs, 14 Independent Strategic Water Reservoir (ISWR) projects and 7 Small Sewerage Treatment Plant (SSTP) project clusters, he stated.

"However, I am happy to announce that this year, we have approved more than 60 water and sewerage projects, worth more than SR35 billion, that will increase water desalination capacity as well as increase strategic water reserves and the capacity to treat more wastewater in the coming years," he added.

SWPC, one of the leaders in public-private partnership projects in the GCC, has successfully achieved financial close of $2.5 billion during the last two years.

Saudi Arabia’s population is expected to grow from 35 million in 2021 to around 40 million by 2026. This growth in the population will put pressure on basic infrastructure. Being an arid country, Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in its water infrastructure, stated the top official.

"We are developing strategic water reserves that should supply enough water to Saudi consumers in case of emergency. By 2029, we plan to raise the capacity to hold 45.7 million cubic metres of water – that will serve the entire country for a few days, if the water supply stops for some reason," explained Al Qureshi.

According to him, there are more than $5.5 billion of water projects currently under construction. Saudi Arabia has adopted Public-Private-Partnerships as a procurement strategy, with 70 per cent of its water processing infrastructure projects procured on this basis.

"We are developing a network of 147 SSTPs with 14,925 km of wastewater collection network that will recycle a large amount of wastewater across the country," he added.

SWPC had recently announced that commercial operations on the Jubail 3A independent water producer (IWP) project will commence in the last quarter of 2022.

According to a recent study, seawater desalination now contributes to more than 90% of all daily water requirements in the GCC region.

Desalination capacity of GCC countries is expected to grow further by 37% during the next five years, with investments of up to $100 billion.

The global desalination market is predicted to grow from $17.7 billion in 2020 to $32.1 billion by 2027, it added.

More than 150 C-Suite Executives (CEOs and MDs) including over 30 speakers, panelists are participating at the conference and exhibition where more than 30 exhibitors and sponsors display the latest innovation and technologies at the two-day event.

Leila Masinaei, Managing Partner, Great Mind Events Management and organizer of the 3rd MENA Desalination Projects Forum, said: "The depth of the water scarcity is getting from bad to worse. The governments of the Mena countries are seeking alternative ways to generate clean water, without harming the environment. Although there are new sustainable sources of generating water, such as from air, desalination still now remains one of the most viable sources to feed large communities."

"That way, the Forum is one of the most important industry conferences that highlights the challenges as well as opportunities," she stated.

"We are happy to curate such an important industry conference and bring all the major stakeholders in this important event where senior government officials, private businesses, contracting companies, project consultants and water experts will discuss key issues such as new technology, reducing the cost of desalination, sustainability and energy efficiency at the two-day conference," she added.

Rory Weaver, Marketing Director, FEDCO, said the Middle East was leading the way for the desalination industry in delivering larger projects than ever, at water tariffs that were unimaginable just a few years ago.

"The Mena Desal Forum is a crucial space to share the expertise and experience necessary to drive further innovation for the industry," he added.