Acciona has announced that it has won a $500 million contract from Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) to build its fourth desalination plant in Saudi Arabia. The Al Khobar 2 reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant will be built in partnership with Al Rashid Trading and Contracting Company (RTCC).
To be located on the east coast of Saudi Arabia around 400 km from Riyadh, the facility will have a daily capacity of more than 600,000 cu. m., making it one of the biggest in the country and the largest RO plant under EPC scheme awarded in a single shot in the Kingdom.
According to a statement from Acciona, three million people in the area will be serviced by the plant, thus consolidating its position in the water-treatment sector in Saudi Arabia, where Acciona already has three ongoing projects.
It added that last year, a $811 million contract was awarded for the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance (for 25 years) of the Shuqaiq3 desalination plant. Located in the south-west of the country on the Red Sea coast, it is expected to be completed in 2021, and will have a treatment capacity of 450,000 cu. m. per day to provide a service to a population equivalent of two million. It will also be equipped with a photovoltaic plant to reduce internal energy consumption.
Additionally, in July 2018, a contract was also awarded for $216 million to build and commission the Al Khobar 1 desalination plant with a capacity of 210,000 cu. m. per day. Located close to the Al Khobar 2 plant, it is expected to serve a population of one million
The company has also designed and built the Al Jubail RO4 seawater desalination plant in the east of the country for Marafiq. With a capacity of 100,000 cu. m. per day, it serves both the city and the nearby industrial complex, Acciona added in its statement.