JEDDAH — The National Water Company's (NWC) strategic drinking water storage facility in Jeddah has been recognized as the biggest in the world – with a capacity of 2.064 million cubic meters. The achievement will be recorded in the Guinness Book of Records, replacing the previous entry of 1.8 million cubic meters. The first phase of project included the implementation of 11 cylindrical reservoirs with a capacity of 188 thousand cubic meters per tank, at a cost of more than SR740 million. The NWC intends to accelerate all further development work in accordance with advice from the country's leadership, and has support for the project from the Emir of Makkah and the Minister of Water and Electricity. The NWC has already awarded contracts for phases two and three of the strategic storage project in Jeddah, which will add a further two million cubic meters. The second phase will be implemented in the Braiman area, and the third in the Faisaliah area of Jeddah at a cost of SR824 million. The Jeddah strategic storage project is the first of its kind, and was conceived as a radical solution to meet the growing demand for water and overcome specific challenges to the water sector in Jeddah. The company is targeting the completion of procedures to launch the fourth and fifth phases with a capacity of one million cubic meters for each phase of strategic storage projects.
