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Local firm wins $625m Ras Al-Khair water project

7 November 2024

Najran-based Emar Al-Janoub for Contracting (EJC) has won a contract to build a new seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plant in Ras Al-Khair in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.

Emar Al-Janoub offered SR2.346bn ($625.6m) to win the contract, seeing off competition from other bidders that included the local Civil Works Company and Saudi Services for Electro Mechanic Works (SSEM), and the Saudi branch of India’s VA Tech Wabag. 

MEED reported in September that Saudi Water Authority (SWA), the kingdom’s main producer of desalinated water, was evaluating bids for the contract.

The contract covers the construction of a SWRO plant with a capacity of about 600,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d).

The contract to build the Ras Al-Khair desalination plant is the third SWRO facility recently tendered by SWA, formerly known as Saline Water Conversion Company.

In September, India’s VA Tech Wabag confirmed it had won the contract to build the 300,000 cm/d SWRO plant project in Yanbu.

The contract for the Yanbu 5 SWRO plant is worth $317m and covers the design, engineering, supply, construction and commissioning of the desalination plant.

Tender proceedings are also under way for two other SWRO plants in the kingdom. The Shoaiba 6 SWRO plant has a capacity of 545,000 cm/d, while a fourth project in Jubail will have a capacity of 600,000 cm/d.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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