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SWCC tenders Yanbu reverse osmosis plant

8 March 2023

Saudi Arabia’s Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has tendered a contract for the construction of a greenfield reverse osmosis (RO)-based desalination plant in Yanbu.

The project will have a design capacity of 500,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d). 

According to SWCC, the plant will be constructed on a 21-hectare area beside the existing desalination and power complex in Yanbu.

The project is in line with improving the environmental impact of the desalination water unit of Yanbu phase 2.

Power and Water Utility Company for Jubail and Yanbu (Marafiq) owns the Yanbu 2 integrated water and power desalination plant, which came on stream in 2015. The facility's desalination unit utilises multi-stage flash technology.

The project is one of several RO-based destination schemes being undertaken on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis by SWCC. 

It expects to receive bids by 13 March for the contract to build the second phase of the Shuaibah water desalination plant.

The proposed plant will have a design capacity of 545,000 cubic metres a day (cm/d). 

At least four companies or teams are expected to bid for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract, according to industry sources.

SWCC has awarded contracts for several major SWRO facilities over the past two years.

It awarded a team of Metito and local firm Saudi Services for Electromechanic Works (SSEM) the EPC contract for a $700m SWRO desalination plant in Jubail in July 2021.

The plant is expected to have the capacity to treat 1 million cm/d of water.

In December 2020, SWCC awarded the EPC contract for the planned Shuqaiq 1 SWRO project to a team of Acciona and RTCC. The Shuqaiq 1 SWRO will have a capacity of 400,000 cm/d.

The procurement process is under way for a contract to design and build a new SWRO plant in Ras al-Khair Industrial City in Jubail.

Known as the Megaton SWRO project, it will have a design capacity of 50,000 cm/d, which can be expanded in future.

The projects are part of the kingdom’s programme to ramp up desalination capacity to cope with the rising demand for potable water.

The Shuaibah desalination plants particularly cater to increasing demand in Mecca and Medina, according to one source.

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Jennifer Aguinaldo

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