The Shuqaiq 3 plant will have a capacity to produce 450,000m3 of water per day, serving two million people. It is Acciona's third desalination plant in Saudi Arabia.
The contract was awarded by Water and Electricity Company (WEC), Saudi Arabia’s state-owned company in charge of desalination and water treatment projects.
Acciona and consortium partners Marubeni Corporation, Abdul Latif Jameel-CDC and Rawafid Alhadarah Holding will finance, design and build the new Shuqaiq 3 desalination plant and operate and maintain it for 25 years. The project - Acciona Agua's biggest so far in Saudi Arabia - will be implemented under a build, own and operate contract amounting to some €750m.
Acciona Agua is involved throughout the project structure: as an investor, sole turnkey contractor, and as leading and majority partner in operation and maintenance.
The project is located in the country's south west, on the shores of the Red Sea, and is scheduled for completion in 2021. It will use inverse osmosis technology and will also incorporate a solar photovoltaic facility to reduce its specific power consumption.
The consortium was able to offer a desalinated water price of US$0.52 per cubic metre, which Acciona said is among the most competitive rates anywhere in the world.
As part of the project's social outreach measures, in the first few years the consortium will offer academic and practical training to residents of the area in order to nurture the development of water industry professionals in the region.
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