The state-run Saudi Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has announced plans to invest about $80 billion by 2025 in a bid to boost desalinated water production to 8.5 million cu m per day.

The SWCC now produces 3.6 million cu m per day of desalinated water – a figure that will need to reach 8.5 million by the end of 2025 to keep up with growing demand, said an expert citing a report by construction research firm Ventures Onsite.

As part of its unremitting efforts to work towards developing sustainable methods of potable water production, Saudi Arabia has announced a number of pioneering projects, including the world’s first solar-powered desalination plant at Al Khafji.

Valued at $130 million and slated for completion in 2017, the photovoltaic plant - a joint venture between Advanced Water Techologies and Abengoa - will produce 60,000 cu m of water to supply Al Khafji City in north-eastern Saudi Arabia, ensuring a constant water supply throughout the year, he stated.

However, a comprehensive, innovation-driven approach to water management is necessary to truly achieve sustainability in the country, remarked Dr Abdullah Al Al Shaikh, the chief executive of Advanced Water Technology, a subsidiary of the Saudi-based technology and investment company Taqnia.

A rapidly growing population, on track to reach 39.1 million by 2030, and a staggeringly high consumption rate, at a total of nearly 1,600 litres per capita per day, has motivated Saudi Arabia’s efforts to boost sustainable water production and curb skyrocketing demand, said Dr Al Shaikh.

As part of this ongoing effort, the kingdom’s Ministry of Water and Energy recently announced a 50 per cent increase in water tariffs for government offices and commercial firms, he added.

Dr Al Shaikh was speaking at the event ahead of the International Water Summit (IWS) to be hosted by Masdar in strategic partnership with the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority from January 18 to 21 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre.

A landmark event for the international water community IWS will bring together world leaders, field experts, academia luminaries, and business innovators to accelerate the development of new sustainable strategies and technologies.

It will also host a dedicated conference session on the kingdom’s latest developments in the water sector.

“Technology plays a major role in solving the diminishing supply and increasing demand challenge in Saudi Arabia. But it is important to remember that it is the bulk gathering or the critical mass of technologies applied to the complete water value chain, upstream and downstream, that will ultimately provide solutions,” remarked Dr Al Shaikh, who will be speaking at the IWS Country Spotlight on Saudi Arabia.

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach. We must be moving on all fronts, simultaneously,” he added.

The use of clean energy sources to drive desalination and waste water treatment plants is a case in point for such innovations, said Roberto De Diego Arozamena, the chief executive of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy and Environmental Services, one of the key sponsors of the World Future Energy Summit 2016 taking place in Abu Dhabi.

“Continuous improvement in how we produce or purify water and how we improve the use of power is key to sustainability,” stated Arozamena.

"New pre-treatment processes, nanotechnology filtering processes, and electrochemical desalination are either being explored or are already in use in various stages of deployments. Some of the new technologies are very promising in terms of their efficiency and energy requirements. However, commercial viability and scalability still need to be proven," he observed.

The SWCC is also trying to double energy efficiency from the current level of about 26 to 27 per cent to 54 to 55 per cent, and is increasingly looking at renewables to achieve this target, he added.-TradeArabia News Service