Saudi Arabia's water sector is poised for a period of significant activity over the next year, as the government - under pressure to deliver better public services - implements a major spending program designed to ramp up access to water. Business Monitor International said in its Saudi Arabia Water Report Q1 2012 that it anticipated a 4 percent increase in desalination output to 1.27 billion cubic metres (m3) and by 2016 output will increase to 1.47 billion m3. The main problem will be keeping pace with demand. We anticipate a sharp increase in water consumption over the next five years, rising from 7.86 billion m3 in 2012 to 11.16 billion m3 in 2016 - a faster rate than the planned growth of desalination capacity. As an indication of the kind of spending that will emerge in Saudi Arabia's water sector, National Water Company (NWC) will commit to outlays of $66 billion on water and wastewater developments in the 2012- 2020 period. Around $30 billion of this will be capital expenditure with much of the spending targeted at wastewater projects - water recycling is a major focus for the authorities. “We expect Saudi Arabia to maintain an attractive competitive landscape with the authorities looking to grant long-term management contracts for the operation of the water sector in key urban areas. These are likely to offer improved risk/return rewards under plans announced by the National Water Company,” the report said. Meanwhile, competition between the major Western water developers such as Veolia and Suez and the growing Asian presence will be fierce, with Korea's Doosan Heavy Industries particularly active in desalination projects, the report added.
