Saudi Arabia to expand water infrastructure

Abu Dhabi: Saudi Arabia plans to invest up to $60 billion over the next 20 years to expand its water infrastructure and to meet the requirements of a fast-growing population, a senior Saudi government official said on Monday.

According to the latest estimates, the population of Saudi Arabia will rise more than 63.6 per cent to 36 million by 2032.

"The figure includes capital investments for expanding distribution water infrastructure and meeting cost of operations," Loay Al Musallam, head of privatisation team and deputy minister for planning and development said on the sidelines of the Middle East Power and Water 2008 conference in Abu Dhabi.

"The demand for water in Saudi Arabia is growing at six per cent annually, as of now," he added.

Saudi Arabia currently supplies 5.72 million cubic metres per day of water to 22 million people, and will need a further 10 million cubic metres per day by 2024, Al Musallam said.

At present, potable water is supplied in the country by desalinating sea water and tapping underground water sources.

New contracts

Al Musallam said recently, two contracts for managing water distribution in Riyadh and Jeddah have been awarded. Riyadh, he said, requires 1.3 million cubic metres of water per day, while Jeddah's daily requirement is about 700,000 cubic metres.

He said all water initiatives - in water distribution and management are backed by the government.

"Later on, some portion of it will be partly financed by the private sector. This will be under partnership between the government and private sectors," Al Musallam added.