Saudi Arabia: Desalination & Power Projects
Daily demand for water and electricity in Saudi Arabia is expected to increase by 10 million cubic meters of potable water and 59,000 megawatts of electricity respectively over the next 10-15 years. The Saudi Arabian Water & Electricity Company (WEC) has announced four new water desalination/power plant projects. These projects are worth a total of $6.1 billion and are expected to be implemented in the Kingdom between 2008-2009 on a build operate and own (BOO) basis.
Established in 2003, WEC is authorized to enhance the Kingdom’s natural water sources. WEC purchases water and electricity produced by the country’s desalination projects and acts as the counterpart under power and water purchase agreements (PWPA). WEC then sells this water and electricity on to Saline Water Conversion Corp. (SWCC) and Saudi Electricity Co. (SEC) respectively. The following is a summary of the upcoming projects. The Commercial Service can provide further details about these projects to any interested U.S. firms.
1. Al-Shuaiba Project (phase 3) is the first of four independent water and power projects (IWPP) under development in Saudi Arabia. It will produce 880,000 cubic meters of desalinated water daily and supply 650-900 megawatts of electricity to Jeddah, Makkah and Taif. Pre-qualifications are required by August 2005. Estimated project cost is $1.6 billion. The plant is intended to be operational in the first quarter of 2008.
2. Al-Shaqiq Project (2nd phase) will produce 212,000 cubic meters of desalinated water daily and supply 700 megawatts electricity to towns in southwestern Assir and Jizan regions. Estimated project cost is $1 billion. The plant is intended to be operational in the third quarter of 2008.
3. Ras Azzur project will produce 800,000 cubic meters of desalinated water daily and supply 2.5 of megawatts electricity to central province towns. It will operate by natural gas. Estimated project cost is $2.4 billion. The plant is intended to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2008.
4. Al-Jubail Project (3rd phase) will produce 340,000 cubic meters of desalinated water daily and supply 1,100 megawatts electricity for towns in the Eastern Province. It will operate by natural gas. Estimated project cost is $1.1 billion. The plant is intended to be operational in the third quarter of 2009.
For details, please contact:
CS Jeddah Yousuf Daqqaq Yousef.daqqaq@mail.doc.gov
T: 966-2-660-0009 x 205, F: 664-4148
CS Riyadh Habeeb Saeed habeeb.saeed@mail.doc.gov
T: 966-2-488-3800, F: 488-3237
CS Dhahran Ahmad Malas ahmad.malas@mail.doc.gov
T: 966-3-330-3200, F: 330-2190
These projects offer significant opportunities for U.S. suppliers of the following goods:
gas turbines water reservoirs gas evaporators
power generators water treatment chemicals
support systems transformers & boilers electrical cut-outs
construction equip.