SWCC's Governor expects to list Water Solutions in Saudi market within a few years

Abdullah Al-Abdulkarim Governor of SWCC

Abdullah Al-Abdulkarim, Governor of the Saline Water Conversion Corp. (SWCC), said that the key objectives of transferring SWCC's assets to Water Solutions Co.is to maximize interest in the local economy and list it in the stock market within the next three to five years.

On the other hand, the global reach of Water Solutions Co. is under study by the company’s board. The company’s strategic and growth plan will be issues soon after obtaining the necessary approvals, Al-Abdulkarim told Al-Arabiya TV.

The listing decision belongs to the owner, which is the Public Investment Fund (PIF) as plans are developed to maximize benefit from the enablers that exist in the Kingdom's desalination sector.

The progress made by the Saudi water sector in cutting energy consumption and production costs per every cubic meter of water, as well as reducing carbon emissions are all indicators to maximize benefit from the sector enablers.

Regarding the SWCC’s asset transfer time frame, Al-Abdulkarim said that there will be a steering committee that will lay the foundations, standards and appropriate mechanisms for this process, while the PIF will undertake the technical, financial and legal evaluation of the assets.

There will be a commercial sale agreement for water products and then the transfer of assets, indicating that the plan will be carried out within 18 to 36 months to complete the transfer of feasible assets.

Among these assets are some plants under construction. The assets under transfer to Water Solutions exceed seven new plants, including some plants that are the largest water desalination facilities worldwide.

Some of the new assets will come into stream this year with a production capacity of 400,000 cubic meters/day and 630,000 cubic meters/day. The company owns production plants with 400,000 and 600,000 cubic meters/day capacity and the one-million cubic meters/day plant which will be ready in 2024, Al-Abdulkarim added.