JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia intends to reduce dependence on bottled drinking water by tapping water in the air. This is the objective of Saudi businesswoman Nouf Idrees when she recently signed a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia-based Vigilant Managing Director K. Krish Kumar to form Vigilant Saudi Arabia which will act as the sole importer, distributor and agent of the Malaysian entity in the Kingdom. Vigilant Sdn Bhd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the QI Group of Companies which has its headquarters in Hong Kong. The product works by extracting air from the atmosphere and condensing it through several filters to produce clean and safe drinking water. Krish said in a statement that the product will help Saudis cut their dependence on bottled water, resulting in cost savings of 57 percent. Since Saudi Arabia has limited water resources and a high evaporation rate, the "Water from Air" product will ensure households and offices have drinking water throughout the day, Bernama news agency reported Saturday. Nouf said the Saudi Ministry of Water and Electricity had estimated that drinking water consumption in the country has been increasing by 24 percent annually, and Saudi Arabia is now the third largest consumer of water, after the US and Canada. "Saudi Arabia currently produces drinking water mainly through desalination plants, and this is projected to increase to 10 million cubic meters in the next 20 years. While underground water is available, it is not getting renewed fast enough due to seasonal rainfall of only 70-100 millimeters annually, making Saudi Arabia one of the most water-poor countries in the world. This is precisely why we expect 'Water from Air' to be an instant hit in the market," she said. QI, chaired by Malaysian entrepreneur Datuk Vijay Eswaran, last year opened its operational headquarters in Petaling Jaya with the purchase of a RM60 million building in PJ8. "Our 15-liter capacity desktop unit can produce each liter of water at $0.15 compared to $0.35 for a liter of bottled water. For the 35-liter capacity standup unit, the cost savings is 48 percent based on a production cost of $0.18 per liter, Krish noted.
