Spanish company Acciona and its local partner Al Rashid Trading & Contracting Company, or RTCC, secured a $384 million contract to build a desalination plant on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast as the kingdom looks to increase the capacity of its water supply.
The contract was awarded by state-owned Saline Water Conversion Corporation and will have a production capacity of 400,000 cubic metres per day, Acciona said on Tuesday.
The Shuqaiq 1 plant “will help to improve the supply of drinking water and offset water shortages in south-west Saudi Arabia by providing a new source of potable water”, it said.
The desalination plant is Acciona’s fifth in the country and the third awarded to the company by SWCC.
It is expected to be completed in 2023.
Last year, Acciona won a $530m contract for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the Shuqaiq 3 desalination plant with a capacity of 450,000 cubic metres per day.
The plant is currently under construction and is expected to be completed in 2021.
The company is also developing the Al Khobar reverse osmosis plant in Khobar on the east coast with a capacity of 630,000 cubic metres per day.
Acciona has also designed and built Al Jubail reverse osmosis seawater desalination plant with a capacity of 100,000 cubic metres per day.
The plant serves both the city of Jubail and its industrial complex in the Eastern Province.
Saudi Arabia, the Arab world’s largest economy, is planning to use public-private partnerships with local and foreign companies to fund infrastructure projects and diversify its economy away from oil.
Last month, SWCC's governor Abdullah Al-Abdul Kareem said the amount of desalinated water produced by SWCC and private sector partners had increased to 7.9 million cubic metres per day, up from 5.3 million cubic metres per day in 2016.
He said that plans were in place to increase capacity by 4 million cubic metres, according to SWCC's website. Capacity will top 10.4 million cubic metres per day within two years.
The kingdom's National Water Company is also inviting private sector participation to build and run a series of new wastewater treatment plants across the country.
NWC is issuing tenders inviting private companies to participate in developing 114 sewage treatment plants with a total capacity of 5.1 million cubic metres per day, as part of its 2030 National Water Strategy, it said in July.
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
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- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
