Spanish infrastructure major Acciona has achieved a major milestone in the construction of two of its main projects in Saudi Arabia - Jubail 3B and Shuqaiq 4 desalination plants - thus ramping up production during final testing to full capacity of 575,000 cu m of potable water per day and 400,000 cu m/day respectively, enough to meet the needs of more than 5.5 million people between both utilities. 

 

The state-owned Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) had awarded Acciona and its partners the construction contract for the Shuqaiq 4 and Jubail 3B desalination plants in 2021. 

 

Celebrating its key achievement, Acciona said both plants are equipped with energy-efficient Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) technology and are a key project in the modernisation of Saudi Arabia’s water sector. 

 

Shuqaiq 4 will help to improve the supply of drinking water and offset water shortages to 3.5 million of citizen in the South-West of Saudi Arabia by providing a new source of potable water, while Jubail 3B desalination plant will supply two million people in the cities of Riyadh and Qassim once commercially operational in 2024, it stated. 

 

These facilities, together with the rest of the projects that Acciona currently has under construction in the Kingdom, bring the total capacity of desalinated water to 2,300.000 m3 per day, that is, to supply drinking water for nine million people, which represents 25% of the country's population. 

 

Javier Nieto, KSA Country Director for the Water business, said: "This milestone is the result of good teamwork between the client, our engineers and the construction teams. Now that we are entering the final testing and commissioning stages, we will undertake several tests to make sure everything works perfectly."

 

"We are so proud to have reached this milestone at Shuqaiq 4 and Jubail 3B. It proves Acciona’s commitment to delivering good work to our clients on time and of our ability to meet the goals of our clients and of local authorities," he stated.  

 

In a region with acute water scarcity, demand for desalinated water is being driven by climate change and population growth. Saudi Arabia, which has a population of 37 million, is the world’s third largest per capita consumer of water after the United States and Canada. 

 

According to Acciona, Saudi Arabia has set a national programme for rationalizing water consumption, setting ambitious targets that include slashing usage by nearly 43% by 2030. 

 

The targets form part of the Saudi Arabia’s comprehensive Vision 2030 social and economic development plan.-TradeArabia News Service