Recent reforms in Saudi Arabia have led to a significant decline in water use by the agricultural sector, the construction of more energy-efficient reverse osmosis (RO), solar-supported water systems, and the reduction of longstanding water subsidies that kept the consumer cost of water between an estimated 5 and 10 percent of the actual production cost. In 2018, the Kingdom introduced a new National Water Strategy to further address these challenges and secure cost-effective and sustainable solutions for the Kingdom’s water demands over the next decade. The strategy includes reducing daily per capita consumption from 263 liters to 150 liters, a 43 percent decrease, by 2030. According to the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture (MEWA), total water demand in Saudi Arabia stood at 15.98 billion m3 at the end of 2020.
A new public-private partnership law has opened up the water sector to greater participation by leading international companies while lessening the cost burden on the government. The law offers significant opportunities to U.S. companies with the expertise, experience, and technologies needed to address the Kingdom’s critical water challenges. Saudi Arabia’s Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC), the largest desalination company in the world, aims to boost the private sector’s contribution to water desalination from two million m3/day currently to seven million m3/day by 2026. SWCC signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the U.S. Department of Energy in 2020 for long-term cooperation in the field of desalination science and technology. The agreement underscores the potential for the U.S.-Saudi relationship to drive knowledge transfer, expertise, and investment into the Kingdom’s water sector, addressing the key national objective of sustainable and efficient water resource management.
FULL REPORT CONTAINS:
- Market Determinants
- Water Demand
- Key Entities
- Market Size
- Regulatory Developments
- Water Project Activity
- Sector Challenges
- Sector Outlook
- Business Opportunities
