March 30, 2022 – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Today the iconic Rabigh 3 IWP opening ceremony took place in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia with participation from H.E. Eng. Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen A. AlFadley, Minister of the Environment, Water, and Agriculture, H.E. Eng. Khaled Al Qureshi, CEO of the Saudi Water Partnership Company, Mr. Mohammad Abunayyan, ACWA Power Chairman, and Mr. Faisal Al Nowaiser, Member of the Board of Directors of SBCC-SAWACO.
The desalination plant, with a capacity of 600,000 m3/day, has been recognized as the “world’s largest reverse osmosis desalination facility” by the Guinness World Records™, the ultimate global authority on record-breaking achievements. The plant is characterized by the highest level of operational efficiency. It is also the most environmentally friendly desalination plant in the world due to the lowest electricity consumption during day-to-day operations and has also recorded the lowest noise rate.
“Rabigh 3 Desalination Plant” meets the clean water needs of about one million housing units in both Makkah Al-Mukarramah and Jeddah and ensures a sustainable and reliable supply of water to the citizens and residents of the two cities and neighboring villages. Especially during peak demand periods in the holy month of Ramadan and the Hajj season. The investment cost of the station is 2.6 billion Saudi riyals (750 million US dollars),” stated H.E. Eng. Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen A. AlFadley, Minister of the Environment, Water, and Agriculture.
“Rabigh 3 IWP is unique compared to other IWP’s in Saudi Arabia. It’s the first IWP after the second round of PPP’s when SWPC became the principal buyer of water. It’s the biggest SWRO plant in the region and first time we put an energy cap of 3.5 KWH, which reduces the energy consumption and in turn reduces the entire desalination sectors average tariff by 30-40%, resulting in a reduced overall carbon emission. We have also mandated a local content contribution of 40% for construction and 70% local content for operations. We believe Rabigh 3 IWP is the milestone of change in the desalination sector, and all have followed this outstanding example of innovation” said H.E. Eng. Khaled al Qureshi.
“This global achievement we are witnessing today is a result of what the ambitious strategic Vision 2030 is tangibly accomplishing in advancing the desalination sector in the Kingdom. The unparalleled efforts of our wise leadership towards driving public-private partnerships enabled the Vision’s goals and aspirations through pioneering projects that globally stood out in terms of size, cost, operational and environmental efficiency. Today, these projects can be benchmarked at a global scale,” said Mohammad Abunayyan, ACWA Power Chairman
“We are very proud to participate in this iconic project in line with KSA vision 2030 and UN SDG goal 6, Water for All. Saudi Brothers (SBCC) is a leader in desalination and established the first private water utility in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the year 2000 by SAWACO-Water Desalination,” said Mr. Faisal Al Nowaiser, Member of the Board of Directors of SBCC.
“On behalf of the International Desalination and Reuse Association, it’s an honor to attend the opening ceremony of Rabigh 3 IWP. This impressive and flagship project offering a reduced tariff and reduced carbon and environmental footprint sets a new benchmark for the industry. H.E. Minister Al Fadley, Minister of the Environment, Water, and Agriculture, Eng. Al Quershi, CEO of SWPC, Mr. Mohammad Abunayyan, ACWA Power Chairman and Mr. Faisal Al Nowaiser, Member of the Board of Directors of SBCC-SAWACO have solidified the Kingdom’s continued leadership position in large-scale desalination which compliments the forecasted economic development as per KSA Vision 2030. This project also mandates a unique local content contribution of 40% for construction and 100% Saudization for operations. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 1971 has been the living laboratory of large-scale desalination and keeps shining brightly with innovation in energy strategies and reduction of water production costs. Rabigh 3 IWP is an outstanding example, and we look forward to seeing more projects and achievements as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues to grow. IDRA commends ACWA Power and SWPC, two longstanding corporate members the IDRA, as well as IDRA Corporate Members involved in building this amazing asset; Abengoa, Sidem [Veolia], SEPCo3, Toray, ROPV, Flowserve, and ERI,” said Shannon K. McCarthy, IDRA Secretary General.
“Sidem [Veolia] is proud to achieve with its partners the largest RO plant in the world with 40% local Saudi content in line with the 2030 vision of the Kingdom securing the best quality of desalinated water,” stated Johnny Obeid, Vice President Middle East, Veolia Sidem.
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