SWCC signs an agreement to mine brine water with investments from the private sector, to contribute to the GDP by 1.5 billion riyals annually by 2030.
Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) signed a number of agreements with local and international companies on the technologies of brine mining and reverse osmosis membranes, with investment from local and international private sectors, starting its first phase with one billion and one hundred million riyals. This statement was given at a press conference in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The conference was sponsored by His Excellency the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, Eng. Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli, in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, H.E. Eng. Osama Al-Zamil, the Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, H.E. Eng. Mansour Al-Mushaiti, the Governor of the Saline Water Conversion Corporation, H.E. Eng. Abdullah Al-Abdul Karim, and the CEO of the Local Content Authority, Abdul Rahman Al-Samary.
The agreements signed included the Additional Desalination Agreement for brine mining, with both the Specialized Chemicals for Industry Co., and Saudi Ningxia TP, dedicated to mining brine water and extracting precious metals and salts, with the aim of achieving additional GDP up to 1.5 billion riyals annually by 2030, in addition to extraction of bromine, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium and lithium at different stages, which are used in the oil and gas industry, pharmaceuticals, construction, food industries, and various chemical industries.
Today, we are signing an agreement with a Saudi company to invest in bromine production, with quantities of up to 16,000 tons, covering 30% of domestic demand by 2024, in addition to its contribution to the GDP with 150 million riyals annually until 2024, amounting to 1.5 billion riyals annually until 2030
SWCC also concluded an Agreement of Cooperation and Engineering Support for Saudi companies specialized in the construction of desalination plants and water transmission systems. These 100% Saudi companies, led by Rawafed Company for Industry and Bohoor Company, have proven their ability and high seriousness in the localization of engineering and technical works during their recent works with SWCC in building desalination plants and giant water transmission systems.
Furthermore, SWCC signed a contract for localizing the reverse osmosis membranes industry, and declared the establishment of an integrated factory, the first of its kind in the Middle East, and the second integrated factory in the world outside Japan.
The project was implemented by partnership with the Local Content and Government Procurement Authority, where Toray Middle East will build the plant with diversified production lines, with world leading product quality and efficiency in terms of its indicators to reduce energy consumption and operational longevity and its adoption of advanced concepts in serving the environment.
The production of the plant is intended for covering the increasing demand for this promising industry locally and globally, thus achieving revenues estimated at 690 million riyals in the Kingdom and the GCC by 2025. The product with the participation of the SWCC is characterized by research development in reducing the average cost by more than 14%, and reducing energy consumption at a rate starting from (4%).
For his part, His Excellency the SWCC Governor, Eng. Abdullah Al-AbdulKarim, said: “The reverse osmosis membrane industry is environment friendly, and today represents one of the most important potentials for the desalination industry in the world, increasingly in demand at an annual rate of 6% locally and 7% in the Gulf region. We aimed to localize this industry for being a basic and strategic product that creates new industrial value that contributes to advancing growth and economic diversification, and that the plant will start production by 2025 and will achieve a return on GDP of 1.14 billion within 5 years, with an annual impact on the balance-of-trade amounts to 135 million riyals. In addition to the water sector, it serves the oil, gas and industry sectors, with a production capacity of 254.000 membranes, 10% of which meet the SWCC needs, while 55% of them are allocated to the local water sector, 5% for the oil and gas sector, and 30% of the products being exported to cover external demand,” noting that 70% of production inputs will be sourced within the Kingdom.
This will achieve a return on GDP of 1.14 billion within 5 years, with an annual impact on the balance-of-trade amounts to 135 million riyals
He added: “We share the next steps for the future of the water desalination industry with the stakeholders and a number of sectors, owners of industrial facilities and contractors, proceeding from an integrative and economic perspective that focuses on the gains that accrue to the people of the country for good and sustainable benefit, to prepare a new generation and a young national leadership in light of the availability of its components that lie in the strength and efficiency of the Saudi contractors, who have high potential to participate uniquely and distinctively in the establishment of major desalination projects and exporting their industrial expertise and knowledge abroad, especially in light of the presence of giant production plant that are built with large capacities globally up to 600 thousand cubic meters/day using RO techniques.
“The Center for the Development of Non-Oil Revenues, which is a center based on thought and adoption of initiatives provided by the private and public sectors to serve the national economy and raise the domestic product, was certainly good for the SWCC’s initiatives in motivating private sector investments, thus providing us with promising opportunities in maximizing the benefit of the desalination and related industries, which contributes positively to the desalinated water productivity. Moreover, we have a high potential to serve many diverse sectors according to a view based on a sense of national responsibility. Today, we are signing an agreement with a Saudi company to invest in bromine production, with quantities of up to 16 thousand tons, covering 30% of domestic demand by 2024, in addition to its contribution to the GDP with 150 million riyals annually until 2024, amounting to 1.5 billion riyals annually until 2030, with investments from the private sector starting from 800 million riyals annually in 2024 and reaching 8 billion riyals annually in 2030 to produce many minerals that have direct impacts in developing growth opportunities and reducing costs for many local industries in a way that integrates with the hubs of economic prosperity set under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.