The Saudi publicly-owned company Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) has awarded ACCIONA and its partner RTCC the construction of the Al Khobar 2 desalination plant at Khobar, on the east coast of Saudi Arabia around 400 kilometres from Riyadh. It is a turnkey contract valued at around $500 million.

The facility will be equipped with reverse osmosis technology and a daily capacity of more than 600,000 m³, making it one of the biggest in the country and the largest RO plant under EPC scheme awarded in a single shot in KSA. It will provide a service to three million people in the area. ACCIONA thus consolidates its presence in the water treatment sector in Saudi Arabia, a country in which it currently has three projects under way.

Last year, a USD700-million contract was awarded for the financing, design, construction, operation and maintenance (for 25 years) of the Shuqaiq3 desalination plant. Located in the south-west of the country on the Red Sea coast, it is expected to be completed sometime in 2021 and will have a treatment capacity of 450,000 m³ per day to provide a service to a population equivalent of two million. It will also be equipped with a photovoltaic plant to reduce internal energy consumption.

In July 2018, a contract was also awarded for around USD150 million to build and commission the Al Khobar 1 desalination plant (capacity: 210,000 m³/day). It is located close to the Al Khobar 2 plant and serves a population of 1,000,000.

The company has also designed and built the Al Jubail RO4 seawater desalination plant in the east of the country for the utility Marafiq. With a capacity of 100,000 m³ per day, it serves both the city and the nearby industrial complex.

ACCIONA is a global group that develops and manages sustainable infrastructure solutions, particularly in renewable energy projects. Its range of services covers the entire value chain of design, construction, operation and maintenance. ACCIONA's aim is to lead the transition to a low-carbon economy and does this by applying technical excellence and innovation to design a better planet. The company earned revenues of €7.19 billion in 2019, has a presence in more than 60 countries and carries out its activities within a commitment to the economic and social development of the communities in which it operates.