ACCIONA-built Al-Khobar 1 desalination plant produces first cubic meter of water
A cubic meter of water is the equivalent to the consumption of a four-member family for one day, explained Al-Khobar 1’s EPC contractor ACCIONA
ACCIONA has described the production of the first cubic meter of water at Al-Khobar 1 as a key milestone in the construction of the desalination plant located on the east coast of Saudi Arabia.
The Sea Water Reverse Osmosis (SWRO) plant is owned by the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) and considered a critical project in the modernisation of the water sector in Saudi Arabia.
A cubic meter of water is the equivalent to the consumption of a four-member family for one day, said its EPC contractor. When completed the desalination plant will be one of the largest desalination plants in the Kingdom and produce 210,000 cubic meters of potable water per day and serve a population of 350,000.
“This milestone is the result of good teamwork between the client, our engineers and the construction teams,” said Ignacio Lobo Gutiérrez, project director, ACCIONA. “Now that we are entering the final stage of construction, we will undertake a number of trials and tests to make sure everything works perfectly.”
Saudi Arabia’s growing 33.4 million population is the world’s third largest per capita consumer of water, behind the United States and Canada. As part of its Vision 2030 programme, the kingdom is aiming for a 24% reduction in consumption in 2021 and 43% by the end of this decade.
According to ACCIONA’s latest Sustainability Report, “desalinated water production in the Middle East will be 13 times higher in 2040 than it was in 2014.”
ACCIONA Middle East’s managing director Jesús Sancho added: “We are proud to have reached this milestone at Al-Khobar 1. We are also proud of another milestone – reaching five million man-hours without lost-time injuries – which exemplifies ACCIONA’s dedication the health and wellbeing of our employees and our partners, and our commitment to our client and to the local authorities.”
