Saudi Arabia to spend $2.4bn on water infrastructure

The Saudi government plans to spend more than SR9 billion ($2.4 billion) in building infrastructure for key water projects in the Makkah region, said a report. The Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has signed several contracts aimed at increasing water supply to some governorates in the Makkah region as well as ensuring supply to areas without water, reported the Arab News. These projects include the construction of Phase Four of a seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant at Shoaiba in Jeddah, the transfer of technology and the purchase of produced water at the Shoaiba power and desalination plant, and the Shoaiba-Mina water transfer system. In the Taif region, work is on to lay water pipelines from Arafat besides implementation of pumping stations, stated the report. The projects also include the manufacture and supply of the Rabigh-Jeddah-Makkah water transfer system and installation of pumping stations, it added.