Saudi Arabia to privatize 11 desalination plants, 9 sewage projects: official

Saudi Arabia is planning to privatize 11 desalination plants with a total capacity of nearly 4.3 million cubic meters/day (CMD), Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing Abdulrahman Al-Zughaibi, undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture.

It also aims to privatize nine sewage treatment plants with a combined capacity of 1.11 million CMD.

The Ministry of Water is finalizing the procedures required for offering other two desalination plants in Jubail and Yanbu with a total capacity of 1.17 million CMD and 450,000 CMD, respectively along with a 270,000 CMD sewage treatment plant in Taif. 

The Saudi Council of Economic and Development Affairs approved privatization of the distribution sector, Al-Zughaibi said, adding consultants were hired to arrange offering the target management contracts and qualification of bidders.

In 2016, Saudi Arabia unveiled a major privatization program as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to raise government revenue and diversify from oil. 

The plan included but not limited to privatization of the production sector at the Saudi Saline Water Conversion Corp (SWCC) and the Ras Al Khair desalination and power plant.