owned Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) is to spend a massive SR40 billion over the next few years to ensure that a steady supply of quality water is available for the country's fast-growing population. Fuhaid Bin Fahd Al-Sharif, Governor of the SWCC, said the government decided a number of years ago to desalinate seawater as a strategic option to procure water. “The Kingdom has set up several desalination stations on the Kingdom's coasts. The total production of the stations is more than 3.3 million cubic meters per day. Water is transported through a 4,000-km-long water network. This makes the Kingdom the largest producer of desalinated water in the world, accounting for 18 percent of global production,” Al-Sharif said. The SWCC will implement a SR10 million infrastructure project and a SR25 billion pipeline project, he added. The SWCC also plans other projects in Ras Al-Khair, Yanbu and Madina at a total cost of SR40 billion. “In 2012 we might privatize the SWCC. Right now we're working on managerially restructuring water stations in Al-Khobar, Al-Shaqeeq and Yanbu,” he said. Al-Sharif said that the government has shown much foresight in its planning for future water provision. He said King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, at the fifth session of the Shoura Council, highlighted the importance of water security for the Kingdom. “Water security is one of the strategic goals of the Kingdom's comprehensive development plan which seeks to build more desalination stations and dams to enhance ground water resources,” King Abdullah said.
