Minister of Environment Signs Agreements for Construction of Rabigh 4 Independent Water Plant Project to Support Supply System in Partnership with the Private Sector

The Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Water Partnership Company, Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Fadhli, signed today at the Ministry's headquarters the project agreements of Rabigh 4 Independent Water Plant, which will be established in Rabigh governorate in Makkah region, with potable water production capacity of 600,000 m3/d of desalinated water.
Eng. Al-Fadhli explained that these agreements will help in achieving the goals and plans of the Ministry, to showcase water production projects in the various regions of the Kingdom. In addition, it is a continuation of previously signed projects to further enhance the active participation of the private sector in developing this vital Water sector and increasing its contribution to the Kingdom development.
The Minister indicated that Rabigh 4 project will directly serve the pilgrims, in addition to the beneficiaries in the regions of Makkah and Madinah, adding that the project aims to improve the quality of services, in addition to raising the efficiency of spending, benefiting from the expertise of the private sector in construction, operation and management, and increasing its contribution to the development in accordance with the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030.
On his part, the CEO of the Saudi Water Partnership Company, Eng. Khalid bin Zwaid Al-Qureshi, indicated that the commercial operation date of the project will be in the first quarter of 2026, and will utilize "reverse osmosis" technology, noting that the project will contribute to achieving high levels of continuous production, lower levels of specific electric energy consumption and operating costs. Moreover, in addition to supporting local content by increasing the percentage of saudization in business and human resources.
Further, it is noteworthy that Rabigh 4 is the eighth project in desalinated water production pipeline in partnership with the private sector, since the launch of the National Water Strategy. The project was presented to the investors in BOO (Build, Own and Operate) approach, and received interest from 39 companies, of which 20 were Saudi companies, and 8 applicants were qualified in total. The preferred bidder was selected after a competitive bidding process that took place between 3 consortia, consisting of 3 local companies, two international companies and a company from the Gulf region, whereas the winning consortium of the project is a consortium comprising ACWA Power, Haji Abdullah Alireza & Partners Company and Almoayyed Contracting Group.
Rabigh 4 comes as a continuation to the successful partnership between the public and private sectors in the environment, water and agriculture sector, subsequent to the signing of several precedent projects for independent water and wastewater treatment plants.