The inexorable growth of desalinated water consumption in Saudi Arabia coupled with the absence of new capacity additions in recent years has left the kingdom with little margin for error. Average output reached 6.96mn m3/d or 91% of total 7.65mn m3/d capacity in 2018. In all probability, demand increased further in 2019.
With additional capacity increasingly a priority, the government has tasked the Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC) with overseeing the task. SWPC is owned 100% by Riyadh’s Ministry of Finance, and is charged with developing desalination capacity through independent water producer (IWP) projects. SWPC plans to raise its capacity from 1.49mn m3/d, just 19% of the Saudi total, at end-2019 to 5.76mn m3/d by end-2023, accounting for all of the growth in Saudi capacity in the meantime. (CONTINUED - 939 WORDS)
