Home » Saudi Arabia » The KSA’s 50-Year Water Desalination Journey: A Fruitful Journey

Business and Investment

The KSA’s 50-Year Water Desalination Journey: A Fruitful Journey

Published

8 months ago

19th September 2025

Huda Az

Water desalination has emerged as a key solution to fulfil the drinking water requirements for industry, agriculture, and daily public use.

Despite its sporadic reliance on artificial rain, the Kingdom is among the nations dealing with severe water resource issues because of its arid terrain and little rainfall. Water desalination has emerged as a practical way to meet the needs of industry, agriculture, and the public for potable water for daily usage.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom competes with neighbouring Gulf nations as one of the world’s top producers of desalinated water, relying on cutting-edge technologies to transform salty seawater into clean, drinkable water.

KSA Water Desalination Achievements

In the Kingdom, desalination began in 1907. There are currently 33 desalination facilities, including 25 on the Red Sea coast and 8 on the Arabian Gulf coast. They provide around 70% of Saudi Arabia’s desalinated water production, with 5.6 million cubic metres of fresh water produced daily.

Moreover, these numbers have put the Kingdom in the race with nations that use comparable desalination methods by making it the greatest producer of desalinated water worldwide. Among the nation’s many desalination facilities are the Khobar plant in 1973, the Jeddah plant in 1970, and the Al Wajh and Duba plants in 1969.

Presently, the nation has established its dominance in the desalination sector by accomplishing record-breaking results in its desalination projects. It has the greatest production in the world, producing 7.9 million cubic meters of desalinated water per day (with the private sector).

With 22% of the world’s desalinated water production, the Kingdom is the largest producer worldwide. 11,200 kilometres of pipelines carry desalinated water to the corporation, helping to supply water across the Kingdom. Likewise, the nation’s new desalination plant produces 2.27 kilowatt-hours of desalinated water per cubic metre, setting a Guinness World Record for the least energy-intensive desalination plant in the world.

Kingdom-Wide Desalination Technology Utilisation

The Kingdom now uses the newest desalination technology available worldwide, including reverse osmosis (RO) and medium-bio-restoration brine (MBBR) water treatment. This helps to effectively treat vast amounts of fresh water at a reasonable cost.

The Kingdom has started using renewable energy for desalinating water. In an effort to lessen reliance on fossil fuels, the nation has attempted to combine nuclear and solar energy. The objectives of environmental and economic sustainability have been achieved.

In a significant move, the Kingdom has integrated solar panels with desalination plants to reduce carbon emissions and supply the energy needed for the process. Through the utilisation of nuclear energy, the Kingdom has been able to supply desalination facilities with reliable and extremely effective electricity.

Furthermore, the Kingdom has focused on infrastructure and distribution networks, in addition to introducing and diversifying contemporary technologies. It has made an effort to build the infrastructure and water distribution networks required to guarantee that desalinated water is delivered to every locality, even the most remote ones. Large-scale projects to construct contemporary pipelines and storage facilities have made this possible.

Water Desalination & Vision 2030’s Objectives

Saudi Vision 2030 touches on the topic of water desalination because one of its objectives is sustainable water security, which can only be achieved by putting modern technologies that use less energy and money into practice.

The Kingdom’s 2030 ambitions include relying on renewable energy throughout the country, and running desalination facilities powered by this energy minimises emissions and protects the environment.

Further, the strategy links desalination to megaprojects like NEOM, which aims to become a global example for sustainable water resource management, and encourages privatisation and investment partnerships to grow this industry and increase its efficiency. Overall, desalinating water will be a key strategy for attaining economic growth and protecting the nation’s resources for future generations.