Saudi sets benchmark for mega utility projects: Almar CEO

Water demand in Saudi Arabia is expected to reach 10 million cubic meters per day (m3/day) by 2024, with overall investment in the sector reaching $6 billion.

In an exclusive interview with Argaam, Carlos Cosín, CEO of Almar Water Solution, says desalination is likely to meet close to 70 percent of this volume (6.6 million m3/day), with most of the new capacity produced by projects involving the private sector.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q: How large, in value terms, is the desalination market in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the GCC?

A: The Middle East is very much the centre of the desalination industry worldwide. More than 70 percent of global desalination plants are based in the region, primarily in the GCC, and Saudi Arabia is the largest and most mature market, accounting for around a fifth of global desalination capacity.

The global market for water PPP projects is tripling between 2016 and 2020, adding an average of 16 million cubic meters per day (m3/day) of treatment capacity annually compared to approximately 6 million m3/day between 2010 and 2015. Total global investment during the period is expected to surpass $58 billion, of which 80 percent will target new seawater desalination and wastewater treatment plants.

With its growing water needs, Saudi Arabia has put a renewed focus on building capacity, increasing the efficiency of water use, and reducing waste. Abdul Latif Jameel Energy set up Almar Water Solutions in 2016 in part to address this need, providing integrated water solutions, covering everything from desalination, to wastewater treatment and conveyance. So, while we have worldwide operations, Saudi Arabia is very much a key market for us.

Q: Which desalination plants are you currently working on in the Kingdom?  

A: The Kingdom’s privatization program is the backbone of our organic growth strategy. We have been involved in most of the tenders since the program was launched by the Water and Electricity Company (WEC) back in 2016. We were very proud to be recently awarded our first project in the Kingdom, as part of the consortium for the Shuqaiq 3 IWP.

The project is the world's second largest desalination plant awarded in 2018 and is located on the Red Sea coast. Over $600 million will be invested in the project, creating 700 jobs, in line with Vision 2030 and its objectives to increase investment and employment opportunities. The large-scale plant will have a capacity of 450,000 m3/day, guaranteeing reliable drinking water for over 1.8 million citizens. The project is scheduled for completion in Q4 2021 and will be developed under a 25-year build-own-operate scheme contract.

Q: Saudi Arabia has announced plans to invest billions of dollars in building desalination plants. Which new desalination plants are currently being tendered?

A: Water demand in the Kingdom is forecasted to be 10 million m3/day by 2024, with an overall investment value in the range of $6 billion in transactions. Desalination is expected to meet close to 70 percent of this volume (6.6 million m3/day), with most of the new capacity produced by projects involving the private sector, in line with the Vision 2030 goals of boosting the role of the private sector in the economy.

Although the main figures are for the municipal market, there are also strong opportunities in the industrial market, mainly due to large water needs and the requirement for advanced technological solutions to comply with the quality standards for both water and wastewater.

Industrial clients that are intensive users of water need to focus on their core business and to outsource the water assets to a specialist company that can assume the technical risks related to the water process.

Q: How competitive is the Kingdom's desalination market?

A: One of the most positive outcomes of the Kingdom’s ambitious water privatization program is the unprecedented low level of tariffs for large municipal desalination projects, with Rabigh 3 IWP at 0.53 USD/m3 and Shuqaiq 3 IWP at 0.52 USD/m3. The highly competitive tender process, together with market liquidity and economy of scales, enables providers to offer such competitive figures. The latest tariffs in desalination and wastewater treatment projects seen in the Kingdom are setting the benchmark for mega-utility scale transactions across the Middle East.

Q: Are you looking at acquisitions or organic growth in the MENA region?

A: When the company was set up in 2016, it aimed to bring together Abdul Latif Jameel’s knowledge and experience of Saudi and regional markets with global water sector expertise, and we have had a regional and global outlook from the outset.

We have been following several tenders in the GCC to expand our portfolio in the region, and we have offices outside the GCC in Madrid, Johannesburg and Santiago de Chile. Our growth strategy combines acquisitions and organic growth by forming long-lasting partnerships with customer-oriented and dependable players.

Q: How important is the adoption of renewable desalination in KSA and the GCC?

A: Desalination is an energy intensive process, so the use of renewable energy is a trend we are very much exploring. We believe we are in a strong place too, not least because FRV, also part of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, is one of the world’s leading solar PV companies.

The combination of current PV tariffs together with industrial-scale disruptive storage systems will make the concept a reality for the GCC in the near future. For Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, we are looking forward to governments and off-takers adopting this approach as we are one of the few developers to have PV and water operations under the same umbrella.

Combining desalination with renewable energy is a logical step that will enable sustainable and efficient energy and water solutions in the Kingdom and the wider region, as well as complementing the existing National Renewable Energy Program in the Kingdom and other utility-scale renewable initiatives in the GCC.