Jeddah's water consumption has increased from 200 litres per capita per day in 2008 to more than 300 litres at the beginning of this year, which is nearly twice the European average, according to a report.

The total water consumption is more than 1.2 million cu m per day, Saudi Arabia's Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al-Hussayen said during an inspection of a water desalination project launched recently in Jeddah, the report in the Arab News said.

Al-Hussayen said that Saudi Arabia has been producing desalinated water since 1927, with output jumping from 300,000 cu m per day to more than five million cu m, almost 20 per cent of global production.

The reverse osmosis plant in Jeddah, which cost nearly SR1 billion ($266.6 million), has a production capacity of 240,000 cu m per day, with an additional capacity of 20 per cent if needed, he was quoted as saying.

“With the massive expansion in the production of desalinated water and its high cost, we are still trying to keep up with the demand for water due to our excessive domestic consumption."