Saudi Arabia to Build Biggest Desalination Plant: SPA

Saline Water Conversion Corp. plans to build the world’s largest water desalination plant in Rabigh on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency reported, citing SWCC without disclosing costs.

The plant being developing by the Saudi government agency responsible for making seawater potable in the desert kingdom will have the capacity to pump 600,000 cubic meters (158 million gallons) of desalinated water a day. The project is expected to be completed by 2018, SPA said yesterday.

Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil producer with the Arab world’s largest economy, allocated $6.4 billion for water and sanitation projects in 2013 and is building power stations to cope with growing demand and desalination plants to supply drinking water to lessen the country’s reliance on oil exports.

State-owned National Water Co. plans to spend $66 billion on plants and upgrades over the next 10 years.

To contact the reporter on this story: Deema Almashabi in Riyadh at dalmashabi@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Shaji Mathew at shajimathew@bloomberg.net