Saudi water plan to cost $60bn
01 April 2008
Saudi Arabia needs to spend around $60 billion over the next 20 years to meet the kingdom’s water needs, according to a top Saudi official.
Water demand is growing at around six per cent per year, Loay Al Musallam, head of privatisation and deputy minister of planning and development at Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Water and Electricity said last month.
Around $40 billion of the total would be capital expenditure, while the remaining $20 billion would pay for operational costs and maintenance, Musallam added.
The total cost may be more, as the capital expenditure estimate was “conservative”, he said.
A new national water company was recently set up to operate water treatment plants, storage and distribution networks. The company has already awarded two contracts to international companies to manage water distribution in Jeddah and Riyadh, he said.
Three more contracts will be awarded later this year for Makkah, Madinah and Greater Dammam.
The five cities account for about 20 per cent of Saudi water consumption, he said.
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