KSA Business: Engie-led consortium breaks ground on key Saudi RO project – Gulf Digital News

KSA Business: Engie-led consortium breaks ground on key Saudi RO project – Gulf Digital News

Global energy giant Engie, along with its Saudi partners - Nesma Company and Ajlan & Bros Holding - today (May 30) broke ground on the Jubail 3B Independent Water Project (IWP) located 65km north of Dammam airport.

Commissioned by Saudi Water Partnership Company (SWPC), the Jubail 3B plant will produce 570,000 cu m/day of potable water using reverse osmosis technology.

The plant will supply water to Riyadh and Qassim regions once commercially operational in 2024, under the terms of a 25-year Water Purchase Agreement, said a statement from Engie.

The consortium, led by the French industrial major, was awarded the Jubail 3B project in June last year after submitting a bid with a tariff of SR1.591 per cu m of potable water to SWPC.

Developed under a public-private partnership structure (PPP), the plant will be financed by the consortium and operated and maintained by Engie.

Once complete, the plant will have a 61MWp capacity solar facility – the largest in-house solar capability for a desalination plant in the Kingdom, helping to optimize electricity consumption and reduce grid reliance.

Jubail 3B’s use of solar energy speaks directly to Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and net-zero objectives, which seek to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels and drive