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JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Saline Water Conversion Corp. will open six desalination plants by 2024 in a phased manner, beginning with the launch of two plants by late 2022.

Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the Innovation Driven Desalination conference, SWCC Gov. Abdullah Al-Abdul-Karim revealed that these plants would be established across various cities of the Kingdom, including Al-Shuqaiq, Al-Shoaiba,  Jubail, and Alkhobar.

Each plant will have a power consumption of less than 1.7 kilowatts per cubic meter, which will reduce the cost of water production by SR1.54 ($0.42) per cubic meter.

“With production at such minimum cost, it will increase the sector’s contribution to the national gross domestic product,” he said.

The Kingdom’s production of desalinated water amounts to more than 7.9 million cubic meters per day, which represents 55 percent of the Gulf region and 22.2 percent of the global desalination, according to a report released by SWCC.

Highlighting the importance of going sustainable, Al-Abdul-Karim revealed that the water desalination industry in the Kingdom is planning to reduce its carbon emissions by 65 percent by 2024, equaling 35 million tons of carbon dioxide.

“It is a big number. It’s a big movement. And this is because the country has a plan for the future both environmentally and economically,” said Al-Abdul-Karim.

The company is also moving from conventional energy sources toward advanced and efficient systems to power these desalination plants.

“We will replace all our thermal technology with the latest reverse osmosis technology, which will fuel our plan to become carbon neutral by 2060,” he added.

During the interview, Al-Abdul-Karim added that innovation is necessary to make water “affordable, abundant, and accessible.”

“For seawater desalination, we need to let innovation impact this industry. We should have the most innovative idea to reduce the cost, increase efficiency, improve financial sustainability, and impact the economy and living standards,” he said.

He added that innovative companies worldwide could come and join hands with Saudi Arabia in the desalination industry.

“There are many innovative houses worldwide. So we are here to tell you that we are a good partner in this journey. And we are ready to have a handshake with all the companies which believe innovation is their business,” said Al-Abdul-Karim.