World’s largest reverse osmosis desalination plant opens up in Saudi Arabia
The world’s largest reverse osmosis desalination plant, the Rabigh 3 IWP, was recently inaugurated in Saudi Arabia. With a capacity of 600,000 m3/day (158 million gallons daily), the desalination plant has been recognized as the world’s largest RO-based desalination facility by the Guinness World Records.
The desal plant is characterized by the highest level of operational efficiency and is the most environmentally friendly facility in the world due to the lowest electricity consumption during day-to-day operations. It has also recorded the lowest noise rate, the International Desalination Association (IDA) said.
The Rabigh 3 IWP opening ceremony took place in Rabigh, Saudi Arabia on March 30, 2022.
“The Rabigh 3 Desalination Plant meets the clean water needs of about one million housing units in both Makkah Al-Mukarramah (Mecca) and Jeddah and ensures a sustainable and reliable supply of water to the citizens and residents of the two cities and neighboring villages. Especially during peak demand periods in the holy month of Ramadan and the Hajj season. The investment cost of the station is 2.6 billion Saudi riyals ($750 million)”, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Eng Abdulrahman Abdulmohsen A AlFadley was quoted as saying in a statement.
“Rabigh 3 IWP is unique compared to other IWP’s in Saudi Arabia. It’s the biggest SWRO plant in the region and first time we put an energy cap of 3.5 KWH, which reduces the energy consumption and in turn reduces the entire desalination sectors average tariff by 30-40 per cent, resulting in a reduced overall carbon emission. We have also mandated a local content contribution of 40 per cent for construction and 70 per cent local content for operations. We believe Rabigh 3 IWP is the milestone of change in the desalination sector, and all have followed this outstanding example of innovation”, said Saudi Water Partnership Company CEO Eng Khaled Al Qureshi.
Veolia Sidem had signed a contract for the pre- and post-treatment facilities of Rabigh 3 RO desalination plant. The company undertakes large desalination projects on turnkey basis and provides hybrid desalination solutions involving both thermal distillation and reverse osmosis technologies.
“Sidem [Veolia] is proud to achieve with its partners the largest RO plant in the world with 40% local Saudi content in line with the 2030 vision of the Kingdom securing the best quality of desalinated water,” Veolia Sidem Vice President (Middle East) Johnny Obeid said.
