PALESTINE – The Palestinian Water Authority has received tender and design documents for a new $600 million desalination plant located at Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.  The project includes the construction of the plant and associated infrastructure, including a distribution network and pumping stations.

The project has thus far faced significant political and financial obstacles. The head of the Palestinian Water Authority, Mazen Ghuneim, reported that the utility has been working with donors and others to facilitate the entry of materials through the Israeli barrier.

SAUDI ARABIA – The King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) has awarded a contract for the design and construction of a solar powered desalination plant to Metito, the Saudi-branch of the UAE-based water management company. The $60 million plant will have a capacity of 30,000 cubic metres of water per day, expandable to 60,000 cubic metres per day.^[1]

Located on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, KAEC is the largest privately-funded new city in the world—covering 181 square-kilometres of land, an area the equivalent of Washington D.C.  The new desalination plant will be the city’s second, and will support its growing population.  Metito has stated that work on the desalination plant will commence soon and finish within the next two years. Production is projected to begin in the first quarter of 2020 and will be powered by solar energy.

^{A fish on the dry bed of Theewaterskloof dam. Credit: Nic Bothma/EPA}

Meanwhile, the Saudi government has prequalified nine consortia for the planned Rabigh phase 3 independent water project (IWP) facility, which will have a capacity of 600,000 cubic metres per day.^[2] Prequalified consortia include ACWA Power (Saudi Arabia), JGC (Japan), Malakoff (Mayalsia), Acciona (Spain), and Suez (France). WEC plans to award the project with a 25-year concession by August 2018.

SOUTH AFRICA – With the prospect of Day Zero looming, the South African fishing company Oceana has committed an investment of $1.7 million to a desalination plant located at its west coast factory in St. Helena Bay. The investment means that the factory will not draw water from the municipal supply and will also not shut down, saving around 2,000 jobs.^[3] According to a statement by the Western Cape provincial government, the new plant will have a capacity of 800 cubic metres of water per day and will be operational by the end of March. Oceana also plans to build a desalination facility at its Laaiplek unit, with a capacity of approximately 600 cubic metres of water per day.