Current news:
Floating desal project starts life on Saudi coast
Saudi Arabia’s state desalination company is set to begin investing in water security through mobile generation assets after commissioning began this week on the first of three floating desal plants owned by shipping giant Bahri.
Two years ago, the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) signed a 25-year water purchase agreement worth SAR760 million ($203 million) with Tadawul-listed Bahri, which will own and operate three barges. Each will contain an oil-fired SWRO desalination plant providing 50,000m3/d of water, initially to a SWCC site at Shuqaiq on the Red Sea coast. The barges were constructed in the UAE by Metito.
The deal marks a shift in strategy for SWCC, which has historically owned and operated all its plants – it controls the world’s largest desalination portfolio. PPP deals have generally been the responsibility of the Saudi Water Partnership Company.
All three barges are expected to be operational by the end of 2022.