Amid growing concerns about water scarcity and the urgent need for sustainable solutions, wastewater remains one of the world’s most undervalued and underused resources. Ironically, what is typically seen as a pollutant – rich in chemicals and nutrients that degrade ecosystems – is also a powerful, largely untapped solution.
According to the UN Environment Programme, wastewater holds five times more energy than is needed to treat it and, with the right policies in place, could generate enough power to provide electricity to half a billion people annually.
Wastewater is water that has been used – typically in homes, businesses or industrial processes – and is no longer clean. Globally, 80 per cent of wastewater is discharged into the environment without proper treatment – a stark figure that poses significant risk to human health and fragile ecosystems. But with the right treatment, there is huge potential for safe reuse of recycled water across a spectrum of applications. Fortunately, advances in treatment technologies, paired with mounting water stress, are prompting governments and industries to rethink their water strategies.
Desalination has long been central to Saudi Arabia’s water strategy which can be energy-intensive and expensive
Countries with advanced water treatment infrastructure, such as Singapore, have demonstrated that treated wastewater can be purified to meet – and even exceed – drinking water quality. For arid nations like Saudi Arabia, where water is scarce but demand continues to rise, harnessing recycled wastewater is not just an environmental imperative, but a strategic necessity for water security.
Valued at $323 billion in 2023, the global water and wastewater treatment market is expected to nearly double to $618 billion by 2032, reflecting how countries and corporations are increasingly viewing wastewater as a long-term solution, rather than a waste product.
Saudi Arabia is emerging as a regional leader in this shift. As hosts of the Global Water Expo in Riyadh this week, a key focal point is the kingdom’s National Water Strategy, which aims to ensure sustainable water resources and services, focusing on efficiency, affordability and environmental protection.
Desalination has long been central to Saudi Arabia’s water strategy which, although critical for supplying freshwater, can be energy-intensive and expensive. Recognising the need to diversify its sources, wastewater treatment plays a vital role in the kingdom’s vision to complement desalination and conserve freshwater resources. Nearly 2 billion cubic metres of wastewater was treated in Saudi Arabia in 2022, with 22 per cent reused for agricultural irrigation (up from 16 per cent in 2017). The kingdom aims to reach 25 per cent reuse this year.
In line with Neom’s principles, the region’s energy and water subsidiary, Enowa, is committed to redefining conservation by improving water performance sustainably, through a smart and connected infrastructure. Wastewater capture and recycling are integral to our circular water management model and underpin our water infrastructure that is currently under development.
With zero run-off to the environment, our wastewater collection and treatment facilities prioritise and protect fragile land and marine ecosystems. Last year, Enowa treated up to 7 million litres of wastewater every day at our Al Badaa facility, which has more than doubled in capacity since 2023. Aligned with our circular economy principles, all this recycled water is used in the Neom Nature Reserve to support regreening and rewilding initiatives, which aim to enhance biodiversity and restore the delicate ecological balance of the kingdom’s natural environments.
To date, Neom has reintroduced 1,100 animals from six species – including Arabian oryx, gazelles and Nubian ibex – and planted more than 4.8 million native trees, shrubs and grasses. Recycled water also feeds the native plant nursery in the reserve, which is the first renewable-powered plant nursery in the kingdom and has capacity to produce 2 million plants annually. As population and wastewater volumes in Neom ramp up over the coming years, the recycled water supply will also grow to support construction, agriculture and landscape applications, reducing pressure on desalination sources.
As part of our approach where all waste is used as a valuable resource, we are also developing bioresource recovery programmes. Nutrient-rich biosolids, the by-product of wastewater treatment, will be processed into high-quality fertilisers for agricultural use and biogases captured to convert into electricity for energy-neutral water recycling processes.
By turning waste into opportunity, it is possible not only to address one’s own water security, but also set a benchmark for resilient water management in water-scarce regions worldwide. As climate pressures intensify, the time to scale and accelerate these solutions is now – before a sustainable source of clean water, renewable energy and vital nutrients disappears down the drain.
Did you know?
Brunch has been around, is some form or another, for more than a century. The word was first mentioned in print in an 1895 edition of Hunter’s Weekly, after making the rounds among university students in Britain. The article, entitled Brunch: A Plea, argued the case for a later, more sociable weekend meal. “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers. It would promote human happiness in other ways as well,” the piece read. “It is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.” More than 100 years later, author Guy Beringer’s words still ring true, especially in the UAE, where brunches are often used to mark special, sociable occasions.
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
