ACWA Power to develop SAR 2.54bn desalination project

ACWA Power building

News wire -- ACWA Power, a leading Saudi developer, investor, and operator of power generation, water desalination and green hydrogen plants worldwide, has signed water purchase agreements for the 600,000 cubic metre per day Rabigh 4 Independent Water Plant, IWP, in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Water Partnership Company, SWPC, a government offtaker, will be the sole buyer of services for the project, which is located on the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia.

The agreements were signed by His Excellency Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadhli, Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture with Chairman of the SWPC, and Mr. Mohammad Abunayyan, Chairman of ACWA Power, in the presence of Mr. Marco Arcelli, Chief Executive Officer of ACWA Power, and Mr. Raad Al-Saady, Managing Director and Vice Chairman of ACWA Power.

“These agreements will achieve the goals for water production projects in partnership with the private sector that supply industries, communities, and people across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We expect that Rabigh 4 will directly serve pilgrims from around the world in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah and serve households in the wider region.

“We hope that this project serves as a testament to this vital sector and shows how the private sector can improve the quality of services, realise investment efficiencies, and foster innovation—all of which are objectives of Vision 2030," Abdulrahman Al-Fadli, the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture said.

Valued at around SAR 2.54 billion, the reverse osmosis plant will service the Makkah and Madinah regions, which typically see a spike in demand during the Ramadan and the annual Hajj season.

"Rabigh 4 has been designed to use less electricity, lower operating costs, and support local content across both supply chain and employment. When this plant is operational in 2026, we will see the impact of reverse osmosis technology in action," Eng. Khalid bin Zuwaid Al-Quraishi, Chief Executive Officer of SWPC disclosed.