Riyadh, — Pointing out that the Saline Water Conversion Corporation is on course for privatization, SWCC Governor Fehied Al-Shareef has invited overseas investors to take advantage of the opportunities available in the desalination sector of Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest producer of desalinated water. The SWCC governor was delivering the keynote address at the 4th World Water Forum on Desalination and Water Reuse in Mexico City.

A large delegation from the Kingdom participated in the forum, which discussed various aspects of the desalination industry —from research and development to investment opportunities.

Al-Shareef said the SWCC has set up the Saline Water Desalination Research Institute in Jubail to streamline the desalination processes. Referring to the SWCC’s privatization program, the governor said agreements for privatization have already been signed with consultants, enabling them to prepare a road map and package that will facilitate the process of divesting the SWCC’s existing assets.

``Today more than 70 percent of the world population is without fresh water, though we live on a planet which has abundant water resources. This is because only about 0.01 percent of earth water is fresh (and safe) for human consumption. ... It is not surprising that more than 50 percent of seawater desalination plants are located in the arid region around the Arabian Gulf.``

In this context, he explained how the SWCC has placed Saudi Arabia in the forefront as the world’s biggest producer of desalinated water.

``To date 30 plants are in operation, with total daily production of more than three million cubic meters of desalinated water and over 5,000 megawatts of electricity. This accounts for more than 50 percent of drinking water supply and around 20 percent of power generation in the Kingdom.``

Al-Shareef said the Kingdom needs an additional six million cubic meters per day of water and 30,000 megawatts more of power generation capacities over the next 20 years due to population increase and urban development. He pointed out that to meet these challenges the Saudi government has taken major steps to throw open the market to private investors, so that they could invest in dual purpose water desalination and power generation projects.

The governor said independent water and power projects would be implemented on a build-own-operate basis, entitling the developer to the ownership of 60 percent of the shares. ``These projects will double the supply of desalinated water and power generation. In this regard, four independent projects have been approved by the Supreme Economic Council and an agreement has been signed for one of the projects at Shoaiba with a consortium formed by local and international companies.``