Saudi Arabia to Invest $133 Billion USD into Water, Power Projects
15 May 2012 - 13:23 by Local Press Report
DHAHRAN (Saudi Daily Record) — The power and water sectors are experiencing a massive boom in Saudi Arabia, said Deputy Minister for Water Affairs Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Saud. “The Kingdom is set to invest $133 billion USD in these vital utility sectors in the next 10 years,” he said. Al-Saud said the government had plans to implement a number of water projects by 2022 at a total cost of some $53 billion USD. The minister said wastage accounted for 20 percent of water consumed by the public. Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) Governor Abdulrahman Al-Ibrahim estimated the total water consumption in the Kingdom at seven million cubic meters daily, adding that 3.3 million cubic meters comes from desalination plants on the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf coasts. “We are currently working on three giant desalination plants at a total cost of $18 billion USD,” Al-Ibrahim said, adding that these plants would be ready by 2015. They will be followed by new projects worth $5 billion USD. He expected that the demand for water would increase three times in the near future.
