Saudi Arabia's Water and Electricity said it has signed an agreement with a consortium led by the Power and Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu (Marafiq) to build and operate a sewage treatment plant (STP) located at Jeddah Airport, in the western part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The other members of the consortium include Al Amwal Al Khaleejiah Al Thania and Veolia Middle East, said a statement from WEC.     

Construction of the STP is expected to start in the second quarter and will be built over two stages, it stated.

Stage One will see the treatment of 300,000 cu m of water per day starting in late 2021, while Stage Two will add another 200,000 cu m per day when capacity at the new STP exceeds certain utilisation rates, it added.

WEC said the STP will be built, owned and operated entirely by the private sector, and the Saudi utility firm will compensate the project company for sewage treated over a 25-year concession period.

Once commissioned, the STP will be the second plant in the kingdom that results in only beneficial sludge being produced, while at the same time producing re-cycled water that will be sold to the National Water Company (NWC) for further use in agriculture and commercial applications.

NWC will then sell the recycled water to end users in the nearby area, the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) will provide power to the new STP.

Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, and WEC chairman Engineer Abdulrahman Al Fadli said: "We want to set a higher standard for Saudi Arabia whereby municipal waste is treated in an environmentally friendly manner, odourless, with minimal sludge leaving the site and re-cycling the water whenever possible."

"We are very pleased that the consortium led by Marafiq is bringing us a cost-effective solution with one of the lowest sewage tariffs ever recorded," he stated.

"Water is a valuable resource in the kingdom and if we can re-cycle its use, everyone benefits as it frees up potable water for other applications," noted Al Fadli.

"This is the kingdom’s second STP offered on a build, own, operate and transfer basis (BOOT) and we expect to see more of these type of projects as part of the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision," he added.

A total of 66 companies had expressed interest in the project and 9 consortiums were qualified to bid for the project, of which 6 submitted final bids.

Some of the world’s most well-known companies in the business competed to construct and operate the STP.   
“We are pleased that the consortium led by Marafiq bid one of the lowest tariffs every witnessed in the Kingdom for a state-of-the art plant,” stated Khaled al Quershi, the chief executive of WEC.

"In addition to constructing and operating the plant for 25 years before turning it over to us, the Consortium must meet stringent local Saudi content as part of the Kingdom’s 2030 Vision," he stated.

According to him, 50 per cent of the total construction cost must be sourced from within Saudi Arabia.  
"During operation and maintenance, 50 per cent must be local during the first five years, increasing to 70 per cent in years six and beyond. These are challenging targets to achieve, but we strongly believe they are achievable as we are dealing with top rated companies who are committed to make this project a success," he added.-TradeArabia News Service