JEDDAH, 12 January 2004 — The Ministry of Water and Electricity has short-listed 11 companies to carry out the Shuaiba desalination plant’s third phase which is estimated to cost between SR4.5 billion and SR5.6 billion.
The new phase of the plant is designed to supply 880,000 cubic meters of water and 700 megawatt of electricity daily.
“Eleven companies have qualified to enter the fray for the third phase of Shuaiba desalination project,” Water and Electricity Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi was quoted as saying by the Saudi Press Agency.
He said the companies will present their offers in the first quarter of this year. “The winner of the contract will have a 60 percent stake in the project along with the Public Investment Fund (32 percent) and the Saudi Electricity Company (eight percent),” the minister said.
Shuaiba, located about 100 km south of Jeddah on the Red Sea, is the Kingdom’s second largest desalination plant.
Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest producer of desalinated water with 30 plants on the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, supplying drinking water to major urban and industrial centers.
Desalination meets 70 percent of the Kingdom’s drinking water needs.
