SWCC plans to increase desalination capacity to meet water demand in Saudi Arabia

Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) is planning to increase desalinated water production in Saudi Arabia to meet rising demands of potable water in the country.

The state-run water provider intends to raise the country’s existing desalination capacity of four million m³ by almost two-thirds to up to 6.5 million m³ before 2015, reports Bloomberg.

Saline Water Conversion is developing two new facilities including the eastern Jubail 3 complex in Rabigh and the Jeddah 3 desalination facility, expected to be operational by 2015.

While the desalination complex in Jubail will involve an investment of SAR30bn ($8bn), the Rabigh water plant is expected to cost SAR6bn ($1.6bn).

Saline Water Conversion governor Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim told Bloomberg: "We are working on several projects right now.

"Among the biggest are Jubail 3 on the east coast, which is due to produce 1.5 million cubic meters a day and 3,000 megawatts of electricity daily.

"We are looking into new desalination projects around the kingdom in cities like Dhiba and Omloj, to support water production in Saudi Arabia." he added.

The firm’s 28 desalination plants in Saudi Arabia uses more than 7000km of pipelines for transferring desalinated water to cope with the potable water requirements of the growing population.