THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA KNEW WATER DESALINATION ABOUT 80 YEARS AGO, BUT THE GREAT DEVELOPMENT TOOK PLACE WHEN A ROYAL DECREE WAS ISSUED ON 20.8.1394 FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SALINE WATER CONVERSION CORPORATION (SWCC) TO UNDERTAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF WATER DESALINATION IN THE COUNTRY. THE STATE SPENT BILLIONS OF RIYALS TO SET UP 30 WATER DESALINATION STATIONS AT THE RED SEA AND THE ARAB GULF. IN 1425-1426 THE KINGDOM'S PRODUCTION OF DESALINATED WATER JUMPED TO MORE THAN 1085 MILLION CUBIC METER. JUBAIL STATION IS CONSIDERED AS THE BIGGEST WATER DESALINATION STATION IN THE WORLD. ABOUT SR 2.359 BILLION WERE ALLOCATED FOR THE SWCC AT THE FISCAL YEAR 1425-1426. REALIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCHES, SWCC ESTABLISHED IN 1407 A CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN JUBAIL. THE CENTER INCLUDES FIVE MAJOR LABORATORIES WHICH ARE PROVIDED WITH THE MOST SOPHISTICATED EQUIPMENT. MEANWHILE, THE SWCC HAS BEEN GIVING UTMOST ATTENTION TO THE TRAINING OF THE NATIONAL CADRES WORKING AT THIS IMPORTANT SECTOR. IN 1402 A TRAINING CENTER WAS ESTABLISHED IN JUBAIL. IN 1999 THE SWCC WAS AWARDED THE PRIZE OF THE INTERNATIONAL DESALINATION ORGANIZATION IN RECOGNITION OF ITS SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN THE FIELD OF WATER DESALINATION.
