The Kingdom Tower stands in the night above the Saudi capital Riyadh November 16, 2007. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (SAUDI ARABIA) - GM1DWPNRBQAA
The Kingdom Tower stands in the night above the Saudi capital Riyadh November 16, 2007. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (SAUDI ARABIA) - GM1DWPNRBQAA
The Kingdom Tower stands in the night above the Saudi capital Riyadh November 16, 2007. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (SAUDI ARABIA) - GM1DWPNRBQAA
The Kingdom Tower stands in the night above the Saudi capital Riyadh November 16, 2007. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (SAUDI ARABIA) - GM1DWPNRBQAA

Acciona awarded $384m contract to build desalination plant in Saudi Arabia


Fareed Rahman
  • English
  • Arabic

Spanish company Acciona and its local partner Al Rashid Trading & Contracting Company, or RTCC, secured a $384 million contract to build a desalination plant on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast as the kingdom looks to increase the capacity of its water supply.

The contract was awarded by state-owned Saline Water Conversion Corporation and will have a production capacity of 400,000 cubic metres per day, Acciona said on Tuesday.

The Shuqaiq 1 plant “will help to improve the supply of drinking water and offset water shortages in south-west Saudi Arabia by providing a new source of potable water”, it said.

The desalination plant is Acciona’s fifth in the country and the third awarded to the company by SWCC.

It is expected to be completed in 2023.

Last year, Acciona won a $530m contract for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the Shuqaiq 3 desalination plant with a capacity of 450,000 cubic metres per day.

The plant is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in 2021.

The company is also developing the Al Khobar reverse osmosis plant in Khobar on the east coast with a capacity of 630,000 cubic metres per day.

Acciona has also designed and built Al Jubail reverse osmosis seawater desalination plant with a capacity of 100,000 cubic metres per day.

The plant serves both the city of Jubail and its industrial complex in the Eastern Province.

Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, is planning to use public-private partnerships with local and foreign companies to fund infrastructure projects and diversify its economy away from oil.

Last month, SWCC's governor Abdullah Al-Abdul Kareem said the amount of desalinated water produced by SWCC and private sector partners had increased to 7.9 million cubic metres per day, up from 5.3 million cubic metres per day in 2016.

He said that plans were in place to increase capacity by 4 million cubic metres, according to SWCC's website. Capacity will top 10.4 million cubic metres per day within two years.

The kingdom's National Water Company is also inviting private sector participation to build and run a series of new wastewater treatment plants across the country.

NWC is issuing tenders inviting private companies to participate in developing 114 sewage treatment plants with a total capacity of 5.1 million cubic metres per day, as part of its 2030 National Water Strategy, it said in July.

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The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8 
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
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Director: Anurag Kashyap​​​​​​​
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal​​​​​​​
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The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

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Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.

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Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tereza Srbova

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Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo

Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic

Power: 242bhp

Torque: 370Nm

Price: Dh136,814

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Photograph

Rating: 4/5

Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies

Director: Ritesh Batra

Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz

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